Arizona Wild Flowers
Wildflower Pictures And Photos

Chia, Salvia columbariae

Chia, Salvia columbariae, Near Cave Creek, March 10, 2005

Chia, Salvia columbariae	Chia Flowerhead

Chia Salvia columbariae, Mint Family: ( Lamiaceae ), Chia. To 20” tall, it makes large, globular, dark purple flower clusters that surround the stems. The two-lipped flowers are rather small, but are an intense deep blue. The foliage rosette is a pretty, gray-green and the leaves are quilted and deeply lobed. The edible seeds have a high-energy value & were used by Native Americans in bread concoctions & medicinally. Chia has medicinal and nutritional uses. This cooling drink was also famous for releaving a desperate thirst. Spanish Missionaries used it as a fever remedy and as a poultice for gunshot wounds. Height: Growing to about 20 inches tall Flowers: Large, globular heads densely packed with numerous, very small, bilaterally symmetrical, pale blue flowers with glandular hairy calyces. Blooming Time: March - June. Leaves: The leaves are grey, basal leaves, forming a rosette to 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 inches in diameter, which is oblong to ovate in outline, deeply pinnatifid with crenate or lobed margins, and a bullate surface covered in long hairs. Stems: Chia has square stems and a single stem has one or two pairs of smaller leaves. A large globular flower head is at the top. Found: Found throughout lower elevations in Arizona. Elevation: 0 - 2500 Feet. Habitat: Dry, well-drained soils. Native of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Miscellaneous: Bottom Flowering Photos Taken April 07, 2004. Castle Creek.