Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 183 

 FLAX FAMILY (Linaceae). 



A small family of slender herbs; very valuable, as 

 they furnish the flax from which all linen is made 

 and many valuable medicinal remedies. 



WILD YELLOW FLAX (Linum virginianum) is a 

 slender perennial species with a smooth stem from 

 one to two feet in height; it branches slightly near 

 the summit, each branch bearing at its end a few tiny 

 yellow flowers, less than a half inch across. The 

 flowers have a calyx divided into five sepals, a corolla 

 of five petals, five stamens and pistils, perfect and 

 symmetrical flowers fertilized by small bees and bee- 

 like flies. The small leaves are thin and have but one 

 rib. This species may be found in dry woodland and 

 thickets from Me. to Minn, and southwards to Ga. 



COMMON FLAX (Linum usutatissimum) (EURO- 

 PEAN). This slender species is more attractive than 

 the last because of its larger flowers. The stem is 

 very slender, from one to two feet in height, and each 

 of its few branches are terminated with one or two 

 delicate, violet-blue flowers; these measure about 

 three quarters of an inch broad, or slightly more, the 

 five petals being large, broad and slightly over-lap- 

 ping. Small, alternate, sharp-pointed leaves are 

 thickly crowded on the stem; they have three, longi- 

 tudinal ribs. 



This is the species that is cultivated very exten- 

 sively in Europe, and less so in this country, for its 

 linen fibre and its seed oil, both of which have a very 

 extensive commercial use. It may be found along 

 roadsides or railroads or in waste places anywhere, 

 usually as an escape from cultivation. 



Linum striatum has tiny yellow flowers crowded on 

 the stiff, angular branches. The leaves grow oppo- 

 sitely. It is found in wet woods or on sandy shores 

 from Mass, to Ga. and west to Tex. 



