Chia (Salvia hispanica) is a plant of the genus Salvia of the mint family. Chia is grown commercially for its seed, which is a source of Omega 3 fatty acid. Chia originated in the central valley of Mexico; the scientific name hispanica, "of Spain", is due to Linnaeus having described the species from cultivated plants in Spain. The word "chia" comes from the Nahuatl chiah. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families See text The Order Lamiales is a taxon in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. ... Genera Many, see text Ref: Delta 2002-07-22 Lamiaceae, or the Mint family, is a family of plants in about 180 genera and some 3,500 species. ... This article is about the sage plant; for other uses see Sage (disambiguation) Species Salvia aethiopis L. Salvia amissa Epling Salvia apiana Jepson Salvia argentea L. Salvia arizonica Gray Salvia azurea Michx. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as ▶ (help· info), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), the name with which his publications were signed, was a Swedish botanist and physician who laid the foundations for the modern scheme... This article is about the sage plant; for other uses see Sage (disambiguation) Species Salvia aethiopis L. Salvia amissa Epling Salvia apiana Jepson Salvia argentea L. Salvia arizonica Gray Salvia azurea Michx. ... Species See text The true mints are perennial herbs in the Family Lamiaceae. ... Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in certain fish tissues, and in vegetable sources such as flax seeds, walnuts, and canola oil. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as ▶ (help· info), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), the name with which his publications were signed, was a Swedish botanist and physician who laid the foundations for the modern scheme... Nahuatl (pronounced in two syllables, NA-watl ) is a term applied to some members of the Aztecan or Nahuan sub-branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, indigenous to central Mexico. ...

It is an annual herb growing to 1 m tall, with opposite leaves 4-8 cm long and 3-5 cm broad. The flowers are blue, produced in numerous clusters in a spike on each stem. An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers and dies in one year. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ...

Chia seed

Chia seeds are typically small, oval diameter of approx 1 mm. and are colored brown, gray, black and white. Chia seeds typically contain 20% protein, 34% oil, and 25% dietary fiber. The oil from chia seeds contain a very high concentration of Omega 3 fatty acid (approx. 64% in the oil) [1]. Chia seeds contain no gluten and only trace levels of sodium. There are no known toxic components of chia. Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids found in certain fish tissues, and in vegetable sources such as flax seeds, walnuts, and canola oil. ... Wheat - a prime source of gluten Gluten is an amorphous ergastic protein found combined with starch in the endosperm of some cereals, notably wheat, rye, and barley. ...

Chia seed has been historically consumed in Mexico, the southwestern United States, and South America, but is not widely known in Europe. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regards chia as having an established history of safe consumption as a food. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Chia seeds served as a staple food of the Nahuatl (Aztec) cultures of Central Mexico. Jesuit chroniclers referred to chia as the third most important crop in the Aztec culture, behind only corn and beans, and ahead of amaranth. Tribute and taxes to the Aztec nobility were often paid in chia seed. A staple food is a basic but nutritious food that forms the basis of a traditional diet, particularly that of the poor. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ... The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Species See text The amaranths (also called pigweeds) comprise the genus Amaranthus, a widely distributed genus of short-lived herbs, occurring mostly in temperate and tropical regions. ...

Today, chia is cultivated on a small scale in its native Mexico and Guatemala. Chia is grown as a commercial food crop in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

External links

• Chia Seed - The Ancient Food of the Future
• Approval sought for Chia seed
• Saturday Evening Post, Sept-Oct 2005 - Too Good to be True?
• Saturday Evening Post, December 2005 - Seeds of Wellness: Return of a Supergrain

Sources

• Ayerza, Ricardo and Coates, Wayne "Chia - rediscovering a forgotten crop of the Aztecs" The University of Arizona Press (2005)
• Anderson, A.J.O. and Dibble, C.E. "An Ethnobiography of the Nahuatl", The Florentine Codex, (translation of the work by Fr. Bernardino Sahagun), Books 10-11, from the Period 1558-1569
• Cahill, Joseph, "Ethnobotany of Chia, Salvia hispanica L.(Lamiaceae), Economic Botany 57(4) pp. 604-618 (2003)Template:Plant stub