Salvia miltiorrhiza (simplified Chinese: 丹参; traditional Chinese: 丹參; pinyin: dānshēn), also known as red sage, Chinese sage, tan shen, or danshen, is a perennial plant in the genus Salvia, highly valued for its roots in traditional Chinese medicine. Native to China and Japan, it grows at 90 to 1,200 m (300 to 3,900 ft) elevation, preferring grassy places in forests, hillsides, and along stream banks. The specific epithet miltiorrhiza means "red juice extracted from a root".

S. miltiorrhiza is a deciduous perennial with branching stems that are 30 to 60 cm (0.98 to 2.0 ft) tall, with widely spaced leaves that are both simple and divided. The .3 m (0.98 ft) inflorescences are covered with hairs and sticky glands. Flowers grow in whorls, with light purple to lavender blue corollas that are approximately 2.5 cm (0.082 ft) long, with a dark purple calyx. Salvia miltiorrhiza prefers well draining soil, with about half a day of sunlight. It is hardy to approximately −10 °C (14 °F). Most Salvia seeds have a higher germination rate when exposed to light, though it is not required.

Salvia miltiorrhiza has been widely used in China and, to a lesser extent, in Japan, the United States, and European countries for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In China, the specific clinical use is angina pectoris, hyperlipidemia, and acute ischemic stroke.

A patented Chinese herbal medicine has successfully completed Phase II clinical trials in the United States and will soon[when?] begin Phase III investigations,[citation needed] raising the possibility that it could become the first Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) product to obtain drug approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The product, Compound Danshen Dripping Pill (also referred to as Cardiotonic Pill), is produced by Tianjin Tasly Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in Tianjin, China. It contains the extract of the root of danshen as well as extract of the root of notoginseng (Panax notoginseng; known as sanchi or tien-chi ginseng), and synthetic borneol, an active ingredient that replaces the more expensive natural borneol found in cardamom, ginger, and other spices.

多年生草本，有丹红色肥大的根，俗称“红根”，茎高40～80厘米，多分枝，被长柔毛。叶常为奇数羽状复叶，顶端小叶较大，小叶卵形或椭圆状卵形， 先端钝，边缘具圆锯齿，两面被柔毛，下面较密。轮状聚伞花序成顶生或腋生，组成假总状花序，密被腺毛及长柔毛；小苞片披针形；花萼钟状，先端二唇形， 萼筒喉部密被白色柔毛；花冠蓝紫色，二唇形，花冠筒外伸，弯曲，筒内有毛环。椭圆形小坚果，花期5～8月，果期8～9月。

性味归经
味苦辛，性微寒。归心、心包絡、肝經。

功能主治
祛瘀止痛，活血通經，清心除煩，擴張血管。用於月经不调，闭经痛經，癥瘕積聚，產後惡露，胸腹刺痛，腸鳴腹痛，熱痹疼痛，瘡瘍腫痛，心煩不眠；肝脾腫大，心絞痛。一味丹參同四物湯，為女科要藥。