Taxon: Salvia hispanica L.

Summary

Genus:

Salvia

Family:

Lamiaceae (alt. Labiatae)

Subfamily:

Nepetoideae

Tribe:

Mentheae

Subtribe:

Salviinae

Nomen number:

32939

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:25. 1753

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358046

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

07/24/1989 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

9 (1 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica Note: mentions
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Ayerza, R. 1996. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Jojoba and its uses and of the Third International Conference on New Industrial Crops and Products. 187-191.
Cahill, J. P. . 2003. Ethnobotany of chia, Salvia hispanica L. (Lamiaceae). Econ. Bot. 57:604-618. DOI: 10.1663/0013-0001(2003)057[0604:EOCSHL]2.0.CO;2.
Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Jarvis, C. 2007. Order out of chaos: Linnean plant names and their types Note: indicates lectotypification by J. R. I. Wood & R. M. Harley, Kew Bulletin 44:225. 1989
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
Williams, L. O. 1981. The useful plants of Central America. Ceiba 24:150.
Wood, J. R. I. & R. M. Harley. 1989. The genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia. Kew Bull. 44:211-278. Note: see page 225 for lectotypification
Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Xingú López, A. et al. 2017. Chía (Salvia hispanica L.) situación actual y tendencias futuras. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc. 8:1619-1631.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	chia		1	Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Spanish (Mexico)	chía	a common name applied to other species	2	Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Swedish	mexikansk chia-salvia		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Ciudad de México	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Australasia	Australia	Australia		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Northern America		Mexico		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay		Xingú López, A. et al. 2017. Chía (Salvia hispanica L.) situación actual y tendencias futuras. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc. 8:1619-1631.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		Wood, J. R. I. & R. M. Harley. 1989. The genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia. Kew Bull. 44:211-278. Note: see page 225 for lectotypification
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Wood, J. R. I. & R. M. Harley. 1989. The genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia. Kew Bull. 44:211-278. Note: see page 225 for lectotypification

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Ciudad de México]

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala

Cultivated
Africa

EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Northern America

REGION: Mexico

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay

Naturalized
Southern America

WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador

Reference(s)

Hassani, M. et al. 2022. Prediction of cultivation areas for the commercial and an early flowering wild accession of Salvia hispanica L. in the United States. Agron. Open Access 12:1651. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071651.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:777. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
Wood, J. R. I. & R. M. Harley. 1989. The genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia. Kew Bull. 44:211-278. Note: see page 225 for lectotypification
Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Xingú López, A. et al. 2017. Chía (Salvia hispanica L.) situación actual y tendencias futuras. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc. 8:1619-1631.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Food additives	dietary fiber		Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Food additives	emulsifier	mucilage	Xingú López, A. et al. 2017. Chía (Salvia hispanica L.) situación actual y tendencias futuras. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc. 8:1619-1631.
Food additives	flavoring	chia oil from seeds	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Human food	beverage base		Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Human food	beverage base		Williams, L. O. 1981. The useful plants of Central America. Ceiba 24:150.
Human food	beverage base		Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Human food	seeds		Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Human food	starch	non-gluten flour	Wood, J. R. I. et al. . 2022. 1028. Salvia hispanica: Lamiaceae. Curtis's Bot. Mag. 39:359-378.
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=32939. Accessed 17 April 2026.