USA. White Sage (Salvia apiana), Whole, Cultivated, Organic Common names: Bee Sage, Sacred Sage, White Ceremonial Sage, Kasiile, Lhtaay, We Wey Family: Lamiaceae (mints) White Sage is a perennial evergreen shrub that grows up to nearly five feet high, native to the southwestern US and northwest Mexico, mostly on the western edges of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. Native Americans living in that region revered the plant, and used White Sage leaf tea for colds, coughs, and severe cases of poison oak, as a blood purifier, to aid relaxation for patients in healing ceremonies, and as a shampoo; added the leaves to foods as flavoring; and applied fresh leaves to the armpits to control body odor.