Salvia hispanica

Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia (ˈtʃiːə), 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 seed, grown and commonly used as food in several countries of western South America, western Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The word chia is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning 'oily'. S. hispanica is one of two plants known as chia, the other being Salvia columbariae, which is sometimes called "golden chia". Chia is an annual herb growing up to tall, with opposite leaves that are long and wide. Its flowers are purple or white and are produced in numerous clusters in a spike at the end of each stem. Chia is hardy from USDA Zones 9–12. Many plants cultivated as S. hispanica are in fact Salvia lavandulifolia. Typically, the seeds are small ovals with a diameter around . They are mottle-colored, with brown, gray, black, and white. The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked. While soaking, the seeds develop a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based beverages a distinctive gelatinous texture. Chia is grown and consumed commercially in its native Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, northwestern Argentina, parts of Australia, and the southwestern United States. New patented varieties of chia have been bred in Kentucky for cultivation in northern latitudes of the United States. Chia seed Chia is grown commercially for its seed, a food rich in omega-3 fatty acids since the seeds yield 25–30% extractable oil, including α-linolenic acid. Typical composition of the fat of the oil is 55% ω-3, 18% ω-6, 6% ω-9, and 10% saturated fat. The length of the growing cycle for chia varies based on location and is influenced by elevation. For production sites located in different ecosystems in Bolivia, Ecuador and northwestern Argentina, growing cycles are between 100 and 150 days in duration.