Desert chia

**grrlscout** · 03-20-2012, 03:03 PM

Hey all!

I'm taking a class at the local community college. I noticed they used a lot of native plants in their landscaping. So I started taking a closer look. Now that we've gotten some rain, the plants are blooming and easier to identify. Lo and behold, I spied a whole patch of desert chia (Salvia columbariae).

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I had read about it. In fact, I bought some seeds to plant this Summer.

The edible part is the seeds.

Supposedly, when soaked in water, they get kind of gooey. Traditionally, this was a nutritious beverage. The seeds were also pounded into a flour, that was used to make cakes or mush.

Medicinally, the soaked seeds made a poultice for wounds or to remove debris from eyes.

Details from the USDA (in PDF format)
http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_saco6.pdf

**Wildthang** · 03-22-2012, 04:03 PM

Cha Cha Cha Chia, Cha Cha Cha Chia, I'm sorry, I just had to do that! I was in a store somewhere and saw an Obama Chia pet, now that's a real treasure!
Girlscout, that is a cool looking plant ya got there! Can you grow peyote out there?