Salvia japonica

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Salvia japonica akinotamurasu01.jpg

|genus = Salvia

|species = japonica

|authority = Thunb.

|subdivision_ranks = Varieties

|subdivision =

• S.  japonica var. japonica
• S.  japonica var. multifoliolata E. Peter

}}

Salvia japonica, known as East Asian sage,{{Cite book|url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf|title=English Names for Korean Native Plants|publisher=Korea National Arboretum|year=2015|isbn=978-89-97450-98-5|location=Pocheon|pages=619|access-date=4 January 2017|via=Korea Forest Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2017}} is an annual plant that is native to several provinces in China and Taiwan, growing at {{convert|200|to|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}} elevation. S. japonica grows on erect stems to {{convert|40|to|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall. Inflorescences are 2-6 flowered verticillasters in terminal racemes or panicles, with a corolla that varies in color from reddish, purplish, bluish, to white, and is approximately {{convert|1.2|cm|in|abbr=on}}.

There are two named varieties, with slight variations in leaf and flower shape: S. japonica var. japonica and S.  japonica var. multifoliolata{{cite journal|year=1994|title=Lamiaceae|journal=Flora of China|publisher=Harvard University|volume=17|page=171|url=http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume17/Lamiaceae.published.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714110202/http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume17/Lamiaceae.published.pdf|archive-date=2010-07-14}}