48 



THALAMIFLORJ3 



after expansion ; stamens equal in number to the petals, and alter- 

 nate with them, united at the base into a ring with small teeth 

 between them ; ovary of about as many cells as there are sepals, 

 and as many styles ; capsule approaching a globular form, tipped 

 with the hardened base of the styles, each cell incompletely divided 

 by a partition extending from the back inwards ; seeds one in each 

 imperfect cell, pendulous. Herbaceous, rarely shrubby, plants, 

 with undivided leaves and remarkably fugacious petals, principally, 

 but not exclusively, confined to Europe and the north of Africa. 

 The flowers are in many cases highly ornamental ; but the most 

 striking feature of the Flax tribe is the toughness of the fibre con- 

 tained in their stems, and the mucilaginous qualities of their seeds, 

 which also yield considerable quantities of oil. One species, Linum 

 usilatissirmim, has for ages supplied the valuable article of clothing 

 which takes its name " Linen " from the plant which produces it ; 

 linseed oil is obtained from the seeds of the same plant, and the 

 meal of the plant is valuable for poultices. 



I Linum (Flax). — Sepals 5 ; petals 5 ; capsule lo-valved and 

 lo-seeded. (Name from the Celtic, Lin, a thread.) 



2. Radiola (Flax Seed). — Sepals 4, connected below, 3-cleft ; 

 petals 4 ; capsule S-valved, 8-celled. (" Named from radius, a ray, 

 I presume, in consequence of the raylike segments of the calyx." — 

 Sir W. J. Hooker.) 



I. Linum {Flax) 

 Leaves alternate 



I. L. perenne (Perennial Flax). — Leaves very narrow, tapering to 

 a point ; sepals inversely heart-shajied, obtuse, obscurely 5-ribbed. 

 A slender plant with wiry stems, which are 

 often procumbent ; very narrow sessile 

 leaves, and very elegant sky-blue flowers, 

 which are so fugacious as scarcely to bear 

 being gathered. The plant varies greatly 

 in different localities. Chalky fields. — • 

 Fl. June, July. Perennial. 



L. angustifoUum (Narrow-leaved Flax. 



Pale F.). — Leaves very narrow, tapering to 

 a point ; sepals elliptical, pointed, 3-ribbed. 

 Like the last, but distinctly marked by its 

 sharp-pointed sepals and smaller, lighter 

 blue flowers. Sandy pastures in the 

 southern and western counties, common. — 

 Fl. June, July. Annual or Perennial. 



3. L. usitatissinmm (Common Flax).— 

 This is the flax of commerce, and, though 

 a native plant, is not unfrequently found in cultivated ground. 



Linum Angustifoltum 

 {Narrow-leaved Flax) 



It 



