Salvia africana-lutea is an aromatic, hardy shrub with
unusually coloured flowers borne over a long period. It is fairly
fast-growing, up to 2 m and very attractive to wildlife.
Flowering begins in early spring, and the bright yellow flowers
soon fade to rusty-orange and then reddish brown. After the petals
fall, the saucer-like calyx, which becomes papery with age, remains
as an added attraction. The flowers are both attractive and a curiosity.
I.C. Hedge (1974) says the flowers at maturity give the impression
of being withered. He describes them as golden brown, often with
a trace of purple at the base. The flowers contain a lot of sweet
nectar which attracts bees and moths, and acts as an essential food
supply for sunbirds, particularly when proteas are not flowering.
The flowers are complimented by greyish-green, aromatic foliage.
Altogether, this is a very worthwhile addition to one's garden.
The name is derived from the Latin word salvere meaning to save
or heal, and refers to the medicinal properties of some species.
The first part of the specific epithet, africana-lutea, describes
the plant's origin, and the second part describes the yellow colour
of the emerging flowers.
The distribution of S. africana-lutea extends from the coast
of Namaqualand to the Cape Peninsula and eastwards from there to
Port Alfred. In its natural state, it grows not far from the sea
and is often a common constituent of the vegetation on coastal sand
A number of the blue and bronze groups of butterflies use salvias
as larval host plants. Salvias' method of pollination is quite crafty:
hidden in the hood of the flower is a clever lever mechanism of
the stamens; when an insect crawls in at the mouth of the flower,
looking for nectar in the flower base, its head pushes against a
sterile part of the stamen, which pushes the anther downwards and
rubs some of the pollen off onto the insect's back. When the stigma
is mature, it bends down and blocks the way of the insect visiting
the flower. If some pollen of another flower is already on the insect's
back, it rubs off against the stigma and results in cross-pollination.
Apart from attracting wildlife, brown sage makes an excellent tea
for coughs, colds, bronchitis and female ailments (pour 1 cup of
boiling water over a short (7 cm) sprig of leaves, stand for 5 minutes
then strain and drink sweetened with honey. The leaves are lovely
for use in potpourri as they retain their shape, colour and much
of their fragrance, and mix well with other ingredients.
The sage family is a very large one characterized by square stems
and aromatic leaves. Other popular plants of this family are mints,
Hemizygia sp., and Orthosiphon sp. The common name
"salie" is applied to many other trees and shrubs with
sage-like leaves.Over 1 000 species of Salvia are found in
all the warm temperate countries of the world, consisting of annuals,
perennials, biennials and shrubs. Of these, 38 are widely distributed
in South Africa.
Growing Salvia africana-lutea
This is an excellent choice for coastal gardens, as it prefers
light, well-drained soil and full sun, tolerates strong winds, and
is drought resistant. It has been cultivated successfully further
inland and upcountry, as it is capable of resprouting from its rootstock
it recovers suitably from frost damage, but preferably try to find
it a warm sheltered spot in the garden if you live in a frosty area.
For more prolific growth, water well and give it plenty of compost/mulch.
Some pruning should be done to keep the plant shapely, but with
age, usually after about five years or more, a build-up of wood
is inevitable. At this point it is better to start afresh with a
young plant. Brown salvia is easily propagated by stem cuttings,
or seed sown in spring. Seedlings will flower from a year to 18
months after sowing.
The beach salvia makes a fine rockery plant and the grey-brown
effect of its foliage and flowers makes a pleasing contrast to the
more usual green vegetation of the garden. It is also suitable for
an informal shrub border. It's useful to plant a mixture of summer
and winter flowering Salvia species with the taller species at the
back and shorter species in front. This way one can have flowers
all year round, keeping the butterflies, bees, sunbirds and white-eyes
captive in your garden.
- ELIOVSON, S. 1955. Wild flowers of South Africa, edn
- ROBERTS, M. 1990. Indigenous healing plants. Southern
- The Naturalist. 1981. Vol. 25, Part 3. Eastern Province
Branch of the SA Wildlife Society.
- JOFFE, P. 1993. The gardener's guide to South African plants.
Cape Town, Tafelburg Publishers.
- The Flowering Plants of Africa. 1965/1966. Vol. 37.
Kirstenbosch. National Botanical garden