A flowering herbaceous perennial plant native to the steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia, Russian sage was not previously a member of the Salvia family, but has become widely known as a sage and ornithologists have included in its family since 2017. This plant grows upright, reaching 0.5–1.2 metres (1+1⁄2–4 feet) tall, with square stems and gray-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. Best known for its flowers, flowering season for Russian sage extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched panicles.
