''Salvia columbariae'' is an annual plant that is commonly called chia, chia sage, golden chia, or desert chia, because its seeds are used in the same way as those of ''

Salvia hispanica ''Salvia hispanica'', commonly known as chia (), is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is considered a pseudocereal, cultivated for its edible, hydrophilic chia ...

'' ( chia). It grows in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, and was an important food for Native Americans. Some native names include ''pashiiy'' from

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

and ''it'epeš'' from Ventureño.

Description

''Salvia columbariae'' grows tall. Its stem hairs are generally short and sparse in distribution. It has oblong-ovate basal leaves that are long. The leaves are pinnately dissected and the lobes are irregularly rounded. The inflorescence is more or less scapose, meaning it has a long peduncle that comes from the ground level that has bracts. The bracts are round and awn-tipped. There are usually 1–2 cluster of flowers within the inflorescence. The calyx is long and the upper lip is unlobed but has 2 (sometimes 3) awns. The lower lip is about twice the size of the upper lip. The flower color can be pale blue to blue and purple tipped. The stamens of the plant are slightly exserted. The fruit of ''S. columbariae'' is a nutlet that is tan to grey in color and long.

Varieties

*''Salvia columbariae'' var.'' columbariae'' Benth. – California sage, chia *''Salvia columbariae'' var. ''ziegleri'' Munz – Ziegler's sage''Salvia columbariae''.
ITIS.

Habitat

''Salvia columbariae'' can be found in dry undisturbed sites, chaparral, and

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

. It generally grows at elevations lower than . In cultivation, it prefers good drainage, sun, and dry weather.

Uses

Medicinal uses

The

Cahuilla The Cahuilla , also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California.poultice A poultice, also called a cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth and placed over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds, such as cuts. 'Poultice ...

. The Cahuilla, Ohlone,

Kawaiisu The Kawaiisu (pronounced: ″ka-wai-ah-soo″) are a Native Californian ethnic group in the United States who live in the Tehachapi Valley and to the north across the Tehachapi Pass in the southern Sierra Nevada, toward Lake Isabella and Walker P ...

, and Mahuna used the gelatinous seeds to cleanse out foreign matter in the eyes. The seeds were placed in the eyes for infections and inflammation, and during sleep, they were tucked underneath the eyelids to remove sand particles. The Ohlone also used it to reduce fevers by consuming the seeds, and the

Diegueno The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

chewed the seeds on journeys by foot to give strength.

Food

The Cahuilla, Kawaiisu, Mohave, Tohono O'odham,

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

and

Akimel O'odham The Pima (or Akimel O'odham, also spelled Akimel Oʼotham, "River People," formerly known as ''Pima'') are a group of Native Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona, as well as northwestern Mexico in ...

grind the seeds and mixed it into water to make a thick beverage. The Cahuillas removed the alkali salts in the water, improving the flavor. They also dry the seeds to make cakes or mush. The Ohlones, Mohave, and

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small ...

make

pinole Pinole, also called pinol or pinolillo, is roasted ground maize, which is then mixed with a combination of cocoa, agave, cinnamon, chia seeds, vanilla, or other spices. The resulting powder is then used as a nutrient-dense ingredient to make d ...

. The Diegueno added the seeds to wheat to improve flavor. The Mahuna,

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

, and Akimel O'odham make it into a gelatinous material, then cook it into porridge. The Luiseno, Tubatulabal, and

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

used it extensively as a food source.

Building material

The Mahuna made it into a fiber and covered their dwellings.

References

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q796692 columbariae Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of Arizona Flora of Baja California Flora of California Flora of New Mexico Flora of Nevada Flora of Utah Flora of Sonora North American desert flora Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Edible nuts and seeds Crops originating from Pre-Columbian North America Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Pre-Columbian Native American cuisine Post-Columbian Native American cuisine Pre-Columbian California cuisine Pre-Columbian Southwest cuisine Annual plants Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants