50 Fresh Seeds Scarlet Sage-Salvia Salvia coccinea is one of about 900 species in the genus Salvia. It is just one of dozens of sages grown as garden ornamentals. As both its scientific name of coccinea (meaning “scarlet dyed”) and common names of scarlet sage and blood sage suggest, this herbaceous perennial in the mint family (Lamiaceae) has bright red flowers. (Beware of common names – another species, S. splendens, is also sometimes called scarlet sage, but these are very different plants; S. coccinea is also occasionally referred to as Texas sage or tropical sage, both those names are used for other species, too.)