ABSTRACT
Golden chia is native to much of the southwestern United States and parts of northern Mexico. Chia seeds were once an important food staple for Native Americans on the southern West coast of North America. Some indigenous people continue to consume chia seeds collected from the wild, and the seeds are also marketed to a limited extent in stores. Golden chia is often grown as an ornamental. The plant was used for several medicinal purposes by Native Americans, and today some over-the-counter, health-promoting preparations incorporate powdered chia seed. Chia seeds, regardless of species, have several current culinary uses. The seeds are ground into meal and then processed into bread, biscuits, muffins, and cakes. Breeding and management programs could considerably improve the productivity of golden chia, and dedicated cultivars could be selected for oil, nutritional content, and food biomass. Although basically a wild plant, the species is certainly an interesting and promising investment possibility.
