white sage

noun

1. Also called greasewood. a shrubby plant, Salvia apiana, of the mint family, native to southern California, having white, hairy foliage and spikes of white or pale lavender flowers.
2. an aromatic, composite plant, Artemisia ludoviciana, of western North America, having leaves with a downy white undersurface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white sage¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

The bees make a delicious honey from the wild, white sage, which grows where nothing else will live.

From Project Gutenberg

I learned afterwards that this plant was the nutritious white sage, which cattle eat freely, with good results.

From Project Gutenberg

As we cross the sandy divide, over which a wagon could drive anywhere, we find white sage in abundance.

From Project Gutenberg

Of a White Sage, Audibertia grandiflora; the lower fork of connective a mere vestige.

From Project Gutenberg

Of another White Sage (A. stachyoides), the lower fork of connective suppressed.

From Project Gutenberg