Scientific Family
Lamiaceae
Other common names
California chia
desert sage
desert chia
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
To 2 feet
Riparian
No
Annual with 1 to several erect, mostly leafless, solitary flower stalks of 4 to 24 inches tall. Emits a spicy odor. Flowers are borne in dense whorls along the stems.
Annual with 1 to several mostly leafless stems, leaves primarily basal and dissected. Flower petals are blue or light purple (lavender) and not helmet-shaped or hood-like. Stamens clearly projecting beyond the tube and limb of the petals.
Habitat
Found on sandy, gravelly, or rarely clay soil on slopes, common in sandy washes.
Plant Community
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
4000
Flower Characteristics
1 to 3 head-shaped clusters arranged around the flower stems; petals blue, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, upper lip small and notched at top, lower with small lateral lobes; sepals 1/2 inch long, purplish, the upper lip about 3 times as long as lower.
Flower color
Pale to deep blue, light purple
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
May
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems simple or branched, 4 to 24 inches long; more or less grayish due to a covering of short hairs. Leaves basal and on lower part of the stem, oblong to egg-shaped in outline, once or twice cleft, divided into toothed divisions, 3/4 to 4 inches long.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Toothed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Nutlets about 1/16 inch long, dark gray mottled with brown.
Fruit type
Nutlet
Fruit color
Gray to light brown
Flower produces up to 13 tiny, flat seeds less than 1/16 inch long.