74 



XY. LINAGES. 



L^cidiolci^ 



1. LiNUM Limi. Flax. 



Sep. 5, persistent. Pet 5. ^S'^awz. 5. Styles 5. 

 compressed. — Named from ZzVz, ifArmt?, ia Celtic 

 modern Gaelic. 



Seeds ovate 



and also in 



1. L. ""usitatissimum L. (common F.)-, leaves alternate I 

 ceolate, sepals ovate acute 3-nerved ciliated, petals ptpt^o?" 

 stem subsolitary. E. B. t. 1357. ^^^' 



V 



Corn-fields, not unfrcquent. ©. l. — Stem 1— lift. hI<Th s!enrl 

 corymbosely branclicd above. Leaves distant, i^^/owers far'^g n 

 plish-blue. Valves of capsule glabrous. — This, as may be hiC 

 Irom Its name, yields in the strong fibres of the bark of the stem tl 

 valuable flax of commerce ; while from the seed a valuable oil is '^ 

 pressed, known by the name of Lint-seed oil. Tlie seeds, too, are hi-rhlv 

 mucilagmous, and much employed in poultices, fomentations, &c.'' 



2. L.pereune L. {perennial blue F.); leaves alternate linear 

 acute, sepals obovate obtuse obscurely 5-ribbed glabrous stems 

 numerous from the same root, peduncles erect. JE. B. t. 40 



Chalky hills : Cambridgeshire ; Hinton, Northamptonshire • West 

 moreland, Norfolk, and Suffolk. Near Monkstown, Ireland. X- 



3. L, angustlfoliiim Huds. (narrow-leaved pale F.) ; leaves 

 alternate Imear-lanceolate acuminate 3-nerved, sepals elliptical 

 three-ribbed mucronate, stems numerous from the same root 

 E. B. t. 381. 



Sandy and chalky pastures, principally near the sea: Kent, Sus- 

 sex Norfolk, Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Cornwall. Near Liverpool, 

 and Plymouth. About Dublin. %. 5-9. — All the three Bri- 

 tish species of this division have a great similarity in their habit. 

 Ihe best characters, as observed by Sir J. E. Smith, are taken from 

 the calyx. In the present the petals are of a paler blue than in the 

 preceding species, and smaller in proportion to the size of the calyx. 

 " Stems lax, very irregularly branched. "" 

 ]3romf. 



Valves of capsule hairy. ">— 



*^ 



Leaves opposite. 



oblong, 

 nerved. 



4, L. cathdrticum L. (purging F.) ; leaves opposite 



steni dichotomous above, sepals elliptical acuminate 1 

 J^* jd, t. 382, 



Pastures, everywhere abundant. ©. 6—9.— &m slender, up- 

 right, 2-6 niches high. Lmves varying from oblonff to obovato- 

 lanceolate. Flowers gracefully drooping before expansion, 

 small. Petals oblong, sonfietimes acute, often obtuse. 



white, 



2. Radiola Gmel Flax-seed. 

 Sep. 4, united up to their middle, and mostly 3-cleft. Pet^ 



ri 



f 



jaf, 



I'tf 

 * 











arriiK 



1,1 



single. 



On 



Jnglai, 



'mil. 

 Purple 



■^4: 



S to 



2i 



