108 LINAGES. 



exclusively confined to Europe and the north of Africa. 

 The flowers are in many cases highly ornamental, but the 

 most striking feature of the Flax tribe is the toughness 

 of the fibre contained in their stems, and the mucilagi- 

 nous qualities of their seeds, which also yield considerable 

 quantities of oil. One species, Linum usitatissimum, 

 has for ages supplied the valuable article of clothing 

 which takes its name, " Linen," from the plant which pro- 

 duces it ; linseed-oil is obtained from the seeds of the same 

 plant, and the meal of the seeds is valuable for poultices. 



1. LINUM (Flax). Sepals 5; petals 5; capsule 10- 

 valved, and 10-celled. (Name from the Celtic Lin, 

 thread.) 



2. EADIOLA (Flax-seed). Sepals 4, connected below, 

 3-cleft ; petals 4 ; capsule 8-valved, and 8-celled. 

 (" Named from radius, a ray, I presume in consequence 

 of the ray-like segments of the calyx." Sir W.J.Hooker.) 



1. LINUM (Flax). 

 * Leaves alternate. 



1. L. perenne (Perennial Flax). Leaves very narrow, 

 tapering to a sharp point ; sepals inversely egg-shaped, 

 obtuse, obscurely 5-ribbed. Chalky fields. A slender 

 plant about a foot high, with wiry stems, very narrow 

 sessile leaves, and elegant sky-blue petals, which are so 

 fugacious as scarcely to bear being gathered. Fl. June, 

 July. Perennial. 



2. L. angustifolium (Narrow-leaved Flax). Leaves 

 very narrow, tapering to a point ; sepals elliptical, 

 pointed, 3-ribbed. Sandy pastures in the southern and 

 western counties ; common. Like the last, but distinctly 

 marked by its sharp-pointed sepals, and lighter blue 

 flowers. Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



* To this group belongs L. usitatissimum, the flax of 

 commerce, which, though not a native plant, is not 

 unfrequently found in cultivated ground. It is distin- 



