Common Name: Tarahumara Chia

General Information

Salvia tiliifolia is an annual to perennial plant with erect, much-branched stems growing from a rhizomatous rootstock; it can grow up to 100cm tall[, ].
The seeds are used to make a refreshing drink[]. They are sometimes cultivated on a garden scale for their seeds, and also sometimes sold in local markets of Mexico[, , ]. The plant is sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. America - Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela; C. America - Panama to Mexico; southern N. America - Texas.

Habitat

Wet or dry thickets and fields, often in oak-pine forests, occasionally a weed in cultivated lands, especially coffee plantations, along streams, usually at elevations of 1,200 - 2,800 metres, occasionally lower[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.75 m
Pollinators	Bees, Butterflies
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Salvia tiliifolia has a wide native range from the tropical Andes of South America, where it can be found at elevations up to 2,800 metres, to the warm temperate climate of Texas. It is not very frost-tolerant, often behaving as an annual plant in areas of its range with colder winters.
Requires a very well-drained light sandy soil in a sunny position[]. Prefers a rich soil[]. Plants can be killed by excessive winter wet[].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[].
Sometimes cultivated as an ornamental, it can be grown as an annual, in areas where the summer growing season is long enough, flowering and seeding in its first year, if started in a greenhouse in the spring.

Edible Uses

A refreshing drink is made by soaking the roasted and ground seed in water[, ]. It is sometimes mixed with barley water[].

Medicinal

The herb is used for killing head lice[, ].

Other Uses

The leaves are used to kill lice[].

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse[]. Germination should take place in about 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood succeed at almost any time in the growing season[].