LINUM — FLAX. 



109 



LINUM.— Flax. 



LInum usitatissimum Limi<''. — Common Flax. 



VeHcripdon. — Ciilyx : Hcpnlw oviitc, iiciito. CoroUii : petals larpfo, with 

 a broud liinb and short daw, dot'p violet-bhio, fuf^acious. StatiieiiH 5, al- 

 t(M"ii!iliii«jf with fho abortivo ()!U's, all united at the base, foriiiiii<j a short 

 tube ; anthers small, versatile, deep blue. 

 Ovary tlask-shaiuHl, n-ceUcd at the base, 

 each cell 2-()vuled ; st/los 5, distinct. 

 Fruit an imperfectly iO-celled capsule. 



An ei'ect annual, 1 to 2 feet hi^h. 

 Stem commonly solitary, stitT", smooth, 

 round, branchin<^ near the toj). Leavers 

 alternate, sessile, linearlancc.'olute, acu- 

 mina^'i, entire. Flowers solitary, at the 

 ends of the branches. 



Hahitat. — Flax has been cultivated 

 from time immemorial, ao that its na- 

 tive home is indoiown. In all countries 

 where culllvated it becomes spaiingl; 

 naturaliz'jd, occurrinn- spcnitancously iiii- 

 der favoral)lo circumstances. 



Part UxccL — The seed. Official name, 

 Linum — Uniled Stales I'ltarmacopd'ia. 



CouKlihients. — The most important 

 constituents of flaxseed are fixed oil and 

 mucilage — both too well known to re- 

 quire conunent. 



Preparations. — Oleum lini — oil of flaxseed. 

 Tiie seed, unground, is employed in decoction ; gi-ound, under the name 

 oi Haxseed mml or ground Jlaxaced, in the preparation of poultices, etc. 



■ Medical Properties and Uses. — Flaxseed tea is largel}' employed as a 

 demi/njent in febrile and inflanunatory affections, and toincally as m\ in- 

 jection in diseases of the bladder, rectum, and vagina. The seed has also 

 been recommended as a substitute for cod-liver oil, on account of the nu- 

 tritious material which it contains. Flaxseed poultices are all but uni- 

 versally emploj'ed in cases requiring emollient applications. Flaxseed — 

 or, as it is commonly termed, linseed — oil is less iised in medicine and 

 pharmacy than formerly. As a topical agent it is often objectionable on 

 account of its drying properties. It was formerly used in the official Linn- 

 mentiim calcis — lime liniment — U. S. P. {carron oil), but has been displaced 

 by cotton-seed oil, because the latter is not possessed of drying properties 

 and hence does not impart to surgical dressings the inconvenient and 

 disagreeable stiffness so generally experienced with the old preparation. 



Fio. i.."). — Llnum nsltntiscimum. 



■United T'l/f's Pharmncopaia. 



