Wild rosemary and sage - how to know if edible?

Question

The back hillside to the tract of homes where we live is covered with rosemary, and sage grows wild too. I assume I can eat them, but could they be poisonous? (That is, are any types of rosemary or sage not edible?) Is there a way to know for sure, or even a way to get them tested? Thanks! :)

Answer 1

"ROSEMARY (Rosemarius Officinalis), leaves of certain varieties are poisonous. SAGE (Salvia), leaves of certain varieties are poisonous"

http://www.akca.org/library/poison.htm

You can't have them tested because there are too many compounds in a plant so it wouldn't be safe to trust they found everything.  The best bet is to see if you can identify the particular species and look it up in a wild foods book or some forum or site that deals with that.

Answer 2

The genus Rosmarinus contains only one species, R. officinalis. It is used as medicinal and culinary herb, but in higher concentration it can be toxic and the pure essential oil too. For more details and recipes see:

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/...

The genus Salvia ( sage ) has 95 species, some more some less poisonous. The species used as medicinal and culinary herb is Salvia officinalis and its dangerousness increases with higher concentration too.

More details and how to use it:

http://www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/sa...

A lot of these different Salvia species can be used as spices or medicine. This site gives you links to plant profiles:

http://plants.usda.gov/java/Classificati...

so that you can find out the species and caracteristics of your sage.