Salvia columbariae (seed)

Nomenclature

Salvia columbariae Benth.   Lamiaceae  
Standardized common name (English): chia

Botanical Voucher Specimen

Salvia columbariae Benth. Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden	Salvia columbariae Benth. var. columbariae Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden

Macroscopic Characteristics

The seed is oblong-ovate, somewhat flattish, from 1 to 8 mm. in length, at one end there is a small, dark line, forming a slight projection, which is the microphyle of the seed, and this, when exposed to moisture, opens in a star-shaped or scalloped manner, emitting the growing embryo. The seed is smooth and glossy, and is surrounded by a transparent epithelium, swelling very largely when in water. The testa is darkish-gray, striated with dark brown lines, running diagonally, and dotted, forming a very beautiful variegated surface; when pressed or crushed under a spatula it bursts at the hilum, exposing the cotyledons and the oil cells, leaving an oily stain upon paper. Internally the testa is dark, grayish-brown, perfectly smooth, glossy, and devoid of the external variegations or striae. It contains the embryo, with the radical pointing towards the hilum, and a white, mucilaginous substance much resembling unrendered fat. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)