sage

I've been hiking a lot with my sister and on these hikes I've been gathering white sage (Salvia apiana) to bring back home to enjoy their scent. But after doing some research on these California natives I'm thinking I ought to grow more myself (we have one plant growing in the front yard) or harvest some from a friend of the family who is a California native-growing fiend. I only picked one spring per plant but now will be more mindful of what I take from nature - much of California's white sage population has dwindled due to overzealous and greedy people in the smudge stick business...which apparently leaves the bumblebees to gather nectar and pollen from weeds rather than that sage! I'll burn my smudge sticks keeping this in mind...