78 SELECTED WESTERN FLORA 



XLI. LINAGES (Flax Family). 



Annual or perennial herbs, often woody at the base, with regular, 

 perfect, symmetrical, hypogenous flowers, and simple sessile leaves : 

 sepals 5; petals 5; stamens 5, monadelphous; ovary 4 or 5-celled 

 and 8-10-seeded. 



1. LINUM. Flax. 



Sepals 5, persistent; petals 5, alternate with the sepals, deciduous; 

 stamens 5, alternate with the petals; styles 5; ovary S-celled with 

 2 seeds in each cell, or more or less completely 10-celled with 1 seed 

 in each cell. Tough fibrous herbs, sometimes woody at the base, 

 with simple sessile leaves either opposite or alternate, and perfect 

 flowers. 



1. L. Lewisii, Pursji. 



Perennial, 1-2 ft. high from a woody root, glabrous and glaucous through- 

 out, the stems simple or branching above, but growing in clumps; leaves 

 linear, acute; flowers few, blue, rather large, the petals very deciduous. 

 (L. perenne, L.) Dry prairies, Man.-Alta. 



2. L. rigidum, Pursh. Yellow Flax. 



Usually perennial, glabrous or minutely pubescent or roughened on the 

 angles, 4-12 in. high, branched, but often growing in tufts or mats, the 

 branches stiff and angled; leaves narrow, erect; flowers large, yellow. 

 Dry prairies, Sask. and Alta. 



3. L. sulcMum, Kiddell. 



Annual, glabrous; stem sparingly, if at all, branched towards the base, but 

 profusely branched towards the top, the branches all rising to about the same 

 height; branchlets more or less grooved; leaves linear or lanceolate, sharp- 

 pointed, the lowest entire, the upper smaller and serrulate, usually with 

 dark glands in place of stipules; flowers yellow, about i in. broad, rather 

 scattered in few-flowered raceme-like or corymb-like clusters. Dry sandy 

 soil, rare; Qu'Appelle Valley west of Fort EUice. (Macoun.) 



XLII. OXALIDACE.® (Wood Soerel Family). 



Low herbs with a sour watery juice, regular flowers, and delicate 

 palmate leaves of three obeordate leaflets; sepals 5, often unequal; 

 petals 5, pink or yellow; stamens 10-15; ovary 5-celled; styles 

 united or distinct.' 



