Author: Gary Jackson

What Is Salvia? for Parents

Salvias are heat- and drought-tolerant, making them survivors in the summer garden. They grow 18 inches to 5 feet tall, depending on the variety. Salvia, or Salvia divinorum, is an herbal mint plant and a naturally occurring hallucinogen that is native to Mexico. The genus Salvia exhibits a wide range of forms and habits; however, most species grow rapidly. Some species reach 5 to 6 feet within a season, while others grow low enough to be used along flower bed edges. Depending on the species, salvias range in width from 12 inches to 4 feet.

• In Britain, sage has for generations been listed as one of the essential herbs, along with parsley, rosemary, and thyme (as in the folk song “Scarborough Fair”).
• Cover the pot with a clear plastic bag—try to avoid the bag touching the foliage.
• Their leaves’ distinctive, pungent odor acts as a repellent to garden pests.
• It’s thought that this ingredient attaches to the nerve cells in your body to create a variety of hallucinogenic effects.

There are an array of treatment options available for people suffering from substance abuse issues, including for people who struggle with the misuse of dissociative drugs. If you are curious about salvia, be sure to understand your state’s laws before you seek it out. Additionally, talk with your doctor if you try salvia and experience issues or side effects. If you are growing the plant or have salvia in your home, consider this a drug to be kept from children and pets. For example, 0.1 to 0.3 grams of 5x salvia extract may be considered safe. If you try 10x salvia extract, a safe range may be between 0.05 and 0.15 grams.

What is salvia?

As some of the best summer-blooming annuals and perennials, salvias can be used for mass plantings, borders, containers, accents, and cut flowers. One benefit of growing salvias is their appeal to hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Salvias are also deer and rabbit resistant due to their pungent foliage. Diviner’s sage (S. divinorum), known colloquially as salvia, is a hallucinogenic plant native to Mexico.

• The flowering stems bear small bracts, dissimilar to the basal leaves—in some species the bracts are ornamental and showy.
• Officinalis can grow to a substantial size (1 square metre or more), but a number of cultivars are more compact.
• Many varieties (typically those with light-colored flowers) will also do well in part-shade, but flowering will be reduced.
• If you are growing the plant or have salvia in your home, consider this a drug to be kept from children and pets.
• Plants in the genus Salvia are herbs, shrubs, or subshrubs and are generally perennial and aromatic.

The NDIC recommends that the higher the extract concentration, the smaller the dose. For example, you shouldn’t consume the drug and then attempt to drive or operate a vehicle or machinery. Cover the pot with a clear plastic bag—try to avoid the bag touching the foliage. To date, there are no known hangover effects for salvia use once it has worn off. Spatio-temporal dislocation is where the user feels transported to an alternative time and place, or has a feeling of being in several locations at once.

Silver Foliage Plants: Add a Touch of Silver!

In traditional Mazatec ritual, shamans use only fresh Salvia divinorum leaves. Modern methods have been developed to more effectively absorb the active principle, salvinorin A. If enough salvinorin A is absorbed, an altered state of consciousness can occur.

Plants will regrow fresh leaves and the next round of blooms. Take care when choosing salvias because not all plants are hardy in all regions; some are best treated as annuals, but many perennial varieties are also available. Salvia’s active ingredient is salvinorin A, a kappa opioid receptor (KOR) agonist.

Culinary use

Salvia officinalis, the common sage or sage, is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region, though it has been naturalized in many places throughout the world. It has a long history of medicinal and culinary use, and in modern times it has been used as an ornamental garden plant. The common name “sage” is also used for closely related species and cultivars. Cultivars are quite variable in size, leaf and flower color, and foliage pattern, with many variegated leaf types. The Old World type grows to approximately 60 cm (2 ft) tall and wide, with lavender flowers most common, though they can also be white, pink, or purple.

Some provide low ground cover, especially in sunny dry environments. Like many herbs they can be killed by a cold wet winter, especially if the soil is not well drained. But they are easily propagated from summer cuttings, and some cultivars are produced from seeds. Officinalis has been classified under many other scientific names over the years, including six different names since 1940 alone.[5] It is the type species for the genus Salvia.

Are side effects or risks possible?

Some studies suggest that, over time, salvia use may contribute to a condition called dysphoria that is characterized by feelings of depression, discontent, and restlessness. Modern methods of ingestion include smoking or chewing the leaf, or using a tincture, as described in the following sections. In 2017 Drew et al.[17] recircumscribed Salvia, proposing that the five small embedded genera (Dorystaechas, Meriandra, Perovskia, Rosmarinus, and Zhumeria) be subsumed into a broadly defined Salvia. This approach would require only 15 name changes whereas maintaining the five small genera and renaming various Salvia taxa would require over 700 name changes. Salvia is often marketed as a “legal high” or a “natural high,” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take precautions if you use it. Because research is limited, the list of possible side effects and risks is short.