Rediscovering a forgotten crop of the Aztecs, Mayas and Nahualts. “The come back of the chia seed”
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a yearly summer plant of the Labiatae family. Its small oval seeds are about 2 millimeters long, black or dark brown, occasionally white or gray. This species originated in the hilly area spreading from West Central Mexico to Northern Guatemala.
The Chia plant thrives in tropical or sub-tropical climate. Industrial crops destined for consumer markets are grown in Northern Argentina and in Bolivia.
The first harvest requires 5 months, during which the small chia plant grows to about one meter high.
This is a bisexual plant with light purple or white flowers growing bouquet-like on top of the stem and producing a small fruit.
The fruit, shaped as an indehiscent achaenium, contains an oval grain 1.5 to 2 mm long and 1 mm in diameter. Its coloring varies from gray to light brown, intertwined with thin black nervures, in blending beige.
Bibliography:Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs.
Ricardo Ayerza Jr. & Wayne Coates, The University of
Arizona Press, TUCSON, 2005.
Available in English and in Spanish
