Herbal Medicine: Clary Sage

Salvia sclarea , better known as clary sage, doesn’t usually get the press that other, more familiar members of the Salvia family does, but it’s an herb worthy of attention with a variety of merits.

Used extensively since well before the birth of Christ, clary is an herb whose name is from the Latin word clarus or clear. Other popular names include Clear Eye or Bright Eyes, because the seeds have been used for clearing the sight. Looking through a book for an herbal remedy for eye irritation, you’ll read that for ages, people have been putting clary seeds into their eyes for vision problems. You might wonder how putting a seed into your eye can remove the debris from your eye? Because a decoction of the seeds is mucilaginous, it was thought that foreign matter would stick to it when used in an eyewash. Although this is an old, traditional use of clary, some herbalists still recommend using a clary eyewash. If you’d like to try it sometime, soak six or seven seeds in boiled water until they swell and become mucilaginous. Using a cotton swab, carefully place one seed in the corner of the eye. When the seed is removed, it’s said the foreign material will be too.

As it was commonly used in beer and wine, it probably did more to blur the vision than clear it. This Mediterranean native herb, first introduced into English cultivation in the mid 1500s, was used by German wine merchants who, after infusing it with elder flowers, added it to Rhine wines to create the equivalent of Muscatel. Still called Muscatel Sage in Germany, it was also used as a substitute for hops, to sophisticate beer and give it considerable bitterness and intoxicating properties.

Clary is also reputed to have antispasmodic, astringent and carminative properties. Herbalists recommend an infusion of clary for digestive pains and as a kidney tonic. A nice mix for stomach upsets is clary leaves and chamomile flowers. The famous herbalist, Culpepper, also recommends applying a mucilage of seeds to swellings and tumors, and to draw splinters and thorns from the flesh. Make a salve with clary leaves boiled in hot vinegar, with honey added to the correct consistency for hot inflammation and boils before they rupture. Jamaican natives to cure stings of scorpions used a decoction of leaves boiled in coconut oil.

While menstruation is not an ailment, the accompanying pain and discomfort can be addressed effectively with clary. Drink honey water with three drops of clary oil at the onset of menstruation, when the pain is at its worst. Sometimes a second dose is necessary a few hours later, but normally the initial dose lifts pain and also the heavy, depressing feeling. If an oral dose is not desirable, blend some clary oil with vegetable oil and massage the lower abdomen, inner thighs and lower back instead. During labor, use a hot compress doused with clary oil applied to the lower abdomen to reduce pain.

For “morning after” heaviness, take two or three drops of clary oil in honey water to clear the head. Clary is one of the essential oils that excites the senses and registers in the brain as a “turn-on,” so it is used successfully as an aphrodisiac. To create a light, euphoric atmosphere for a party, sprinkle clary oil around the room or put a few drops in a bowl of warm water.

Fresh or dried leaves can be used in the same way as garden sage for culinary purposes, and the flowers also make a lovely garnish. Culpepper says fresh clary leaves, dipped in batter, then fried, makes a dish, “not unpleasant to any and exceedingly profitable.” Commercial food manufacturers use clary oil to flavor beverages, baked goods, puddings, candies and liqueurs.

Clary is commonly used in aromatherapy, with a strong fragrance like that of balsam. The flowers mix well with other herbs in sachets or potpourris, and its aroma blends well with lavender, bee balm and jasmine. Clary is cultivated commercially for its essential oil, and used as a fixative in perfumes, to scent colognes, creams, detergents, lotions, perfumes and soaps. Because of its astringent properties, an infusion of clary makes a good skin-freshening lotion. To kill bad breath, use a few drops of clary oil as an effective mouthwash. And, for an acute attack of depression, take a bath with clary oil in the water. Put a cranky child who’s just thrown a tantrum in a clary bath for 10 minutes and see the difference in attitude!

A striking herbaceous plant, clary sage is classified both as biennial and perennial. It can develop in a year’s time from a tiny seedling to a three- or four-foot high plant with a two-foot spread. It requires little water or attention and is adaptable to temperatures below zero. Clary blooms in early summer with small lilac or light blue flowers surrounded by pink, purple or white bracts. It likes a sunny, well-drained location. In a bed filled with old-fashioned, early blooming plants such as roses, foxgloves, Canterbury bells, hollyhocks, delphiniums, dill, fennel, larkspur and others, clary is a great back-of-the-border plant that gives height and color for almost a full month. Once flowers start to look shabby and tan at the edges, cut flowering stems back to encourage vigor. This also helps to avoid large numbers of seedlings germinating at the base of plants. Propagation is easily accomplished from seeds, sown in autumn or spring.