name: Chia
flavor_db_name_variants: chia
source: foodb
status: draft
food_db_id: Chia
id: 328
name_scientific: Salvia hispanica
description: Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. The 16th-century Codex Mendoza provides evidence that it was cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times; economic historians have suggested it was as important as maize as a food crop. It is still used in Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico and Guatemala, sometimes with the seeds ground or with whole seeds used for nutritious drinks and as a food source.
itis_id: 32718
wikipedia_id: Salvia_hispanica
picture_file_name: 333.jpg
picture_content_type: image/jpeg
picture_file_size: 91556
picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:42:43.000Z
legacy_id: 360
food_group: Herbs and Spices
food_subgroup: Other seeds
food_type: Type 1
created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:35.000Z
updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:04:23.000Z
creator_id: null
updater_id: null
export_to_afcdb: false
category: specific
ncbi_taxonomy_id: 49212
export_to_foodb: true
public_id: FOOD00328