436 



LINACEAE. 



Vol. II. 



5-io-valved, the carpels with incomplete false septa, each one longitudinally ridged and 

 grooved on the back. Seeds flat, lenticular. [The classical Latin name.] 



About 8 species, natives of temperate or warm regions. In addition to the following another 

 occurs in the western United States. Type species ; Linum usitatissimum L. 



Annual; introduced; inner sepals ciliate ; capsule about as long as the calyx, i. L. usitatissimum. 

 Perennial ; western ; sepals eciliate ; capsule much exceeding the calyx. 2. L. Lewisii. 



I. Linum usitatissimum L. 



} 



ti si tat is si 



Flax. Lint-bells. Linseed. Fig. 2675 



Linum usitatissimum L. Sp. PI. 277. 1753. 



Annual, often tufted, erect, branching above, 

 i2'-2o' high, glabrous and somewhat glaucous. 

 Stem terete, striate, the branches slightly an- 

 gular; leaves alternate, 3-nerved, lanceolate, 

 i'-i¥ long, i"-3" wide, acute or acuminate; 

 stipules none ; inflorescence a terminal cy- 

 mose leafy panicle; flowers blue, 6"-8" broad; 

 pedicels slender; sepals oval, acuminate, the 

 interior ones ciliate and 3-ribbed ; petals cu- 

 neate, crenulate, twice the length of the sepals ; 

 capsule ovoid-conic, 3"-4" long, equalling or 

 somewhat exceeding the sepals, indehiscent, 

 incompletely lo-celled, the septa not ciliate; 

 seeds compressed. 



Along roadsides, railways and in waste places, 

 fugitive from Europe or from cultivation. Called 

 also flix, lin, lint. Cultivated flax. Summer. 



Linum hiimile Mill., another Old World species, 

 may be distinguished tiy its dehiscent capsule with 

 ciliate septa. It is rarely met with in our area in 

 similar situations. Both have been cultivated 

 since prehistoric times for their fibre and oil. 

 Their origin is unknown. 



Linum grandiflorum Desf., originally from 

 northern Africa and also occasionally met with in 

 our area, may be distinguished from both L. 

 mum and L. htimile by its red petals, the ciliate outer sepals and the united styles. 



2. Linum Lewisii Pursh. Lewis' Wild Flax. 

 Fig. 2676. 



Linum Lezvisii Pursh, Fl, Am. Sept. 210. 1814. 

 Linum pcrenne var Lewisii Eat & Wright. N A. Bot. 

 ,302. 1840. 



Perennial by a woody root, i°-2° high, glabrous, 

 glaucous, densely tufted, simple up to the cymose 

 inflorescence. Leaves crowded, oblong or linear, 

 3"-2o" long, i"-2" wide, acute or acutish, 3-5- 

 nerved;. flowers blue, I'-ii' broad; sepals oval, 

 mainly obtuse, one-third or one-fourth the length 

 of the petals ; stigmas shorter than the styles ; cap- 

 sule broadly ovoid, 2-3 times as long as the calyx, 

 obtuse, incompletely lo-celled, dehiscent, the septa 

 ciliate. 



Prairies, Manitoba to South Dakota, Wisconsin, 

 Texas, Arizona, Utah and Alaska. Prairie-flax. Summer. 



The European L, perenne L., otherwise nearly iden- 

 tical with this species, differs in having heterogonous 

 flowers. 



2. CATHARTOLINUM Reichb. Handb. 307. 1837. 

 Annual or perennial often paniculately or corymbosely branched herbs. Leaves alter- 

 nate or occasionally opposite, without stipules but sometimes with stipular glands, mostly 

 narrow, entire or serrulate, sometimes ciliate or glandular-margined. Sepals S, persistent or 

 deciduous, all of them or only the inner ones with gland-tipped teeth Petals Si yellow or 

 white, unappendaged but sometimes pubescent within near the entire base. Stamens 5; fila- 

 ments united at the base, the free portions abruptly or gradually dilated at the base, not 

 accompanied by staminodia, or rarely with a short staminodium in each sinus. Gynoecium 

 S-carpellary, or rarely 2-carpellary, sometimes cartilaginous at the base: styles filiform, dis- 

 tinct or united ; stigmas distinct, terminal, capitate. Capsule ovoid or depressed, S-celled, or 



