XVII, LINACE.ZA. 83 
slightly connected at the base, with capitate stigmas. Ovary 
with as many cells as styles, or incompletely divided into twice 
as many. Capsule separating into as many carpels as cells, 
without any central column; each carpel opening inwards by 
longitudinal slits, and containing 2 seeds, often separated by an 
incomplete partition. No albumen. 
A small Order, widely spread over the globe, differing from Geraniacee 
chiefly in the foliage and the absence of any persistent axis to the fruit, 
from Caryophyllacee by the Panes stigmas and the fruit. 
Parts of the flower in fives ‘ ; " . , . 1. LINUM. 
Parts of the flowerin fours . : ; f ; ; <2, uA DEO Ge, 
I. LINUM. FLAX. 
Sepals, petals, and stamens 5. Cells of the capsule apparently 10 but 
really 5, each divided into two by a nearly complete partition. 
A rather numerous genus, spread over nearly the whole of the 
temperate and warmer regions of the globe, but chiefly abundant in 
the Mediterranean region and western Asia. 
Flowers small, white. Lower leaves opposite . , ; . 4. L. catharticum. 
Flowers blue. Leaves all alternate. 
Root annual. Sepals pointed. 
Stem erect. Leaves lanceolate. Petals 7 or 8lineslong . L ZL. usitatissimum. 
Stem decumbent. Leaves short and linear. Petals not 6 
lines long . : ‘ : : ; ; 3 F . 3 DL. angustifoliun. 
Rootstock perennial. 
Sepals obtuse. Petals deep blue, 7 or 8lineslong . . 2. LD. perenne. 
Sepals pointed. Petals pale blue, not6lineslong . . 3. D. angustifoliwn. 
The LZ. flavum, a south European perennial, with yellow flowers, and 
some other exotic species, are to be met with in our gardens. 
1. L. usitatissimum, Linn. (fig. 190). Common F., Linseed.—A tall, 
erect annual, perfectly glabrous, and usually branched only at the top. 
Leaves alternate, erect, narrow lanceolate, pointed and entire, 4 to 14 
inches long. Flowers of arich blue, ina loose terminal corymb. Sepals 
obovate or lanceolate, all pointed. Petals obovate, entire or slightly 
crenate, 7 or 8 lines long. Capsule globular or slightly depressed. 
An extensively cultivated plant, whose origin is unknown, but it readily 
sows itself as a weed of cultivation in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the 
world, and as such it ismet with insome parts of England. Fl. summer. 
2. L. perenne, Linn. (fig. 191). Perennial F.--A very variable plant, 
sometimes resembling much LZ. usitatissimum, but it forms a perennial 
stock, either tufted or rootlike ; the stems are usually more slender, and 
not so erect, and sometimes quite procumbent, the leaves smaller and 
narrower, and the sepals, or at least the inner ones, are always obtuse. 
In dry chiefly limestone pastures and waste lands, or sometimes in 
rich mountain pastures, varying much according to soil or situation, 
and widely diffused over central and southern Europe, and southern 
Russian Asia, but not extending into northern Germany. Common in 
western N. America. Occurs in some of the eastern counties of England, 
but in other localities LZ. angustifoliwm is often mistaken for it. Fl. 
summer. 
3. L. angustifolium, Huds. (fig. 192). Pale #.—Usually a perennial, 
with the decumbent stems and narrow leaves of some varieties of JZ. 
