Is salvia just sage.....like the sage you spice your food with?

Or is it a specific type of sage?

Is salvia just sage.....like the sage you spice your food with?
Salvia is the genus of several plants, and the sage you cook with is in that family. The kind you smoke is related to cooking sage, but definitely not the same species.
Reply:and from a Culinary point of view........it is not the sage you would typically use although I have. It is not the sage in your spice rack for sure. It is a different flavor from the sage we know and love.
Reply:Salvia is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is one of three genera commonly referred to as Sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to common sage (Salvia officinalis); however, it can be used with modifiers to refer to any member of the genus. This genus includes approximately 700 to 900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals with almost world wide redistribution, the center of diversity and origin appears to be Central and South Western Asia.[1] Different species of sage are grown as herbs and as ornamental plants.[2] The ornamental species are commonly referred to by their scientific name Salvia.





The closely related genera Perovskia and Phlomis are also known as sage; Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia). Some species of the unrelated genus Artemisia are also referred to as sages, a shortened version of sagebrush. Smudge bundles are made with various grey-leaved species of Artemisia and are misrepresented as "whitesage" smudges. The true whitesage is Salvia apiana, which has a delightful scent when burned.
Reply:The term salvia, when used alone, refers to decorative sage or ornamental sage. Salvia officinalis is the official name for the sage one cooks with, and its general names are garden sage, kitchen sage or simply "sage." Though a few variations of the plant are also referred to as "sage."








A note not to the author of the question: Oh yeah -and if you're going to cut and paste from Wikipedia - cite the source or that's plagiarism!