[Illustration: Salvia carnosa
Salvia columbariae]
Common names: CHIA, SAGE, DESERT-SAGE
Arizona desert: (_Salvia carnosa_). Sky-blue. Spring.
California desert: (_Salvia columbariae_). Blue. March-April.
Texas desert: (_Salvia arizonica_). Indigo blue. July-September.
Mint family. Size: Herbs and shrubs up to 3 feet high.
The word “Sage” is derived from the idea that these plants had the power
to make a person wise or sage. Please do not confuse the Desert-sage
with Sagebrush (_Artemisia_) which does not grow in low-elevation
deserts but which, due to popular writings and “western” movies, is
associated in the public mind with any brushy plant found in the west.
Seeds of the Chia at one time formed a staple article of diet among
southwestern Indians, and are still used by natives in Mexico for food
and for making mucilaginous poultices.
The flowers of several species of Chia are very ornamental and the
plants are quite common, usually in sandy soil.