LINUM 



LINUM 



1887 



BB. Bloom blue. 



2. usitatissimum, Linn. FLAX. Much cult, for lin- 

 seed and for fiber, and running wild along railroads and 

 in fields: 2-3 ft. high, very slender-branched, glabrous: 

 Ivs. small, linear or lanceolate, acute, alternate: fls. 

 about Kin. across, light 

 blue, soon withering: pod 

 large, mostly exceeding 

 the scarious-edged sepals, 

 nearly or quite indehiscent, 

 the septa not 

 j ciliate. L. 

 htlmile, Mill., 

 also cult, and 

 sometimes es- 

 caped, is lower 

 and has a de- 

 hiscent caps, 

 with ciliate 

 septa. It is 

 probably only 

 a form of the 

 above, and it has run 

 wild in this country. 

 Flax has been cult, 

 from time i m m e - 

 morial, and it is un- 

 known in an origi- 

 nally wild state. Some 

 authorities consider 

 it to be a modified 

 form of L. perenne; 

 others think it to be 

 derived from L. an- 

 gustifolium, Huds., 

 an annual or perennial species with small fls., short 

 linear Ivs., and decumbent st., growing from England 

 to W. Asia. 



AA. Plant perennial: fls. yellow, white, or blue. 



B. Bloom yellow (L. trigynum, which may be sought here, 



will be found under the genus Reinwardtia) . 



3. flavum, Linn. Erect from a somewhat woody base, 

 glabrous, 1-2 ft.: Ivs. lanceolate or linear, alternate: fls. 

 golden yellow, in a much-branching cyme, the showy 

 petals much exceeding the glandular-ciliate sepals. Eu. 

 B.M. 312. A good half-hardy perennial, but not popu- 

 larly known in this country. 



4. virginianum, Linn. (Cathartollnum virginidnum, 

 Reichb.). Perennial, producing suckers, 1-2 ft., gla- 

 brous, branched above: Ivs. thin and deep green, 

 elliptic-lanceolate to narrow-oblong or the lower 

 spatulate, 1-nerved: fls. yellow, about 3^in. broad, 

 scattered; sepals ovate, short-pointed, entire or nearly 

 so; styles distinct: caps, depressed-globose, 10-celled. 

 Maine to Ga. and Ala. Offered as a good garden 

 perennial. 



5. arbdreum, Linn. Small shrub, spreading: Ivs. 

 wedge-shaped, obtuse, recurved: fls. few and large, 

 clear yellow, in close clusters; sepals acuminate. 

 Crete. B.M. 234. Gn. 77, p. 435. 



BB. Bloom white. 



6. monogynum, Forst. Variable glabrous perennial 

 1-2 ft. high, sometimes woody at base, the sts. simple 

 or branched, erect or spreading: Ivs. many, scattered, 

 1 in. or less long, linear-oblong to linear-subulate, 

 1-3-nerved: fls. white, often 1 in. diam., in terminal 

 corymbs; sepals acute, ovate to ovate-lanceolate; 

 styles united at base: caps, broadly ovoid, large. New 

 Zeal. B.M. 3574. J.H. III. 57:13. An attractive 

 species. 



7. salsoloides, Lam. Perennial, evergreen, 1 ft., 

 woody at base, the sts. branched and somewhat twisted: 

 Ivs. small, setaceous: fls. white with purple eye; sepals 



ovate, acuminate, with glandular hairs at middle. 

 Mediterranean Alps. G.C. III. 54:42. G. 36:681 (var. 

 nanum). A showy species. 



BBB. Bloom blue (running into white varieties). 



8. perenne, Linn. Fig. 2181. Erect-growing and 

 branchy, glabrous, 1-2 K ft. tall: Ivs. linear and acute, 

 alternate: fls. rather small, azure-blue (there is a white- 

 fld. form; var. album, Hort.), on the ends of slender 

 pedicels, the styles and stamens of different lengths (fls. 

 heterogonous) in different fls.: caps, ovoid, dehiscent, 

 on inclined pedicels. Eu. Worthy hardy perennial, 

 summer-blooming, often flowering the first year from 

 seed. L. sibiricum, DC., belongs with this species. 



9. Lewisii, Pursh (L. perenne var. Lewisii, Eaton & 

 Wright). PRAIRIE FLAX. The W. American repre- 

 sentative of the above, and scarcely distinguishable 

 from it except that the fls. are not heterogonous, pedi- 

 cels more erect in fr.; calyx-nerves not evident: fls. 1 Yz 

 in. across, clear sky-blue, very pretty. Wis., west and 

 south. 



10. austriacum, Linn. (L. perenne var. austnacum, 

 Voss.). Lvs. linear, punctate: fls. rather small, violet- 

 red or light blue: fruiting pedicels horizontal or reflexed. 

 Austria. Hardy N., growing 1-2 ft. high and blooming 

 all summer. 



11. alpinum, Linn. (L. perenne var. alpinum, Voss). 

 Low, about 6 in., with erect shoots: Ivs. small, crowded 

 below, pellucid-dotted, linear-subulate: fls. few, large, 

 blue; inner sepals obtuse, the outer ones somewhat 

 acute. Eu. 



12. narbonnense, Linn. One to 2 ft. high, forming a 

 spreading clump, glabrous and slightly glaucous, and 



2181. Linum perenne. (XJi) 



very handsome for rockwork: Ivs. linear-Ian ceolate r 

 pointed, alternate: fls. IK in. across, on slender pedicels 

 in loose panicles, azure-blue, with white eye and white 

 stamens. Eu. G.C. III. 50:468. Gn. 52, p. 401. G. 

 26:460. Blooms in late spring and early summer; 

 a good hardy species. 



