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Author: Linné, Family: labiatae
There are several varieties of wild sage, I chose salvia pratensis, because it is the common wild sage of
Middle Europe. I'm not sure, though, if it could have tolerated the cold Ice-Age climate.
The well-known kitchen herb and medicinal plant is salvia officinalis, which can't have been Ayla's
sage because it originates from the hot Mediterranean area.
More about sages in MGMH
(Salvia pratensis is mentioned at the bottom of the page, under 'Other Species'.)
Text References: Healing / Tea
| VH 4, 54 |
"There's some hot sage tea if you want some." |
| MH 30, 500 |
The smell of sage tea rose from a steaming cooking basket. |
| MH 32, 532 |
She opened up a packet of leaves and dropped a few on the stone and
leaned over closer to breathe in the smoke that curled up. Ayla smelled
sage, and less pronounced, mullein and lobelia. She watched the woman closely,
noted a heaviness of breathing, which was soon relieved, and realized she
suffered a chronic cough, probably asthma. |
| MH 32, 533 |
"Could you have identified the subtle smell of mullein, masked by the
heavy aroma of sage, so quickly if you hadn't known it was there? And then
known what you were treating yourself for?" |
| PP 2, 27 |
In the semiarid regions of little rainfall, shortgrasses, less than a foot and a half tall, had evolved. They stayed close to the ground with most of the growth underneath, and vigorously sent out new shoots, especially in times of drought. They shared the land with brush, particularly artemisias like wormwood and sage. |
| PP 13, 215 |
She made her bitter-tasting contraceptive medicine, then readied a
cup of tarragon-and sage tea for the sleeping man and another for herself. |
Text References: Food
| VH 25, 412 |
Ptarmigan
She had searched up and down the valley for the right combination of
greens and herbs, and had brought them to the stone oven. She collected
coltsfoot for its slightly salty taste; nettles, pigweed, and sprightly
wood sorrel for greens; wild onions, garlicky-tasting ramsons, basil, and
sage were for flavor. |
| MH 9, 135 |
Then she caught sight of the woven container that still held the gruel
of grains and vegetables she had stone-boiled that morning. It had been
put aside to lunch on as anyone wished, and had thickened and settled.
She tasted it. Without salt, people preferred distinctive, spicy flavors,
and she had flavored the gruel with sage and mint, and added bitterroots,
onions, and wild carrots to the mixed rye and barley grains. |
| MH 27, 442-443 |
Mamutoi Spring Feast
Garlicky-tasting ramson greens were picked for taste and flavor, as
were tart juniper berries, peppery tiger lily bulbs, flavorful basil, sage,
thyme, mint, linden, which grew as a prostrate shrub, and a variety of
other herbs and greens. |
| PP 4, 51 |
Dinner for Two
"Besides these roots, I'm going to add the green tops of the cattails,
the bulbs, leaves, and flowers of these green onions, slices of peeled
thistle stalks, the peas from milk vetch pods, and I just put in some sage
and thyme leaves, for flavor." |
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Abbreviations |
Editions |
| CB |
The Clan of the Cave Bear |
The page numbers refer to the hardcover editions by Crown Publishers, Inc, New York 1980, 1982, 1985, 1990.
Book 1-3 are the Special Collector's Edition, I don't know if the page numbers differ from those of the 'normal' hardcover editions. |
| VH |
The Valley of Horses |
| MH |
The Mammoth Hunters |
| PP |
The Plains of Passage |
| (...) |
omission |
Copyright |
| ... |
original in text |
All book quotes: © Copyright Jean M. Auel
The format and text contents of this site are the property of the author |
| MGMH |
'A Modern Herbal', by Mrs. M. Grieve |
Comments, suggestions, errors, anything else ... emails are welcome!
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