244 Linaceae 
LINACEAE Flax Family 
Herbs (ours) or shrubs. Leaves alternate or opposite or whorled (not ours) ; stipules 
small or none. Flowers perfect, regular. Sepals 5, rarely 4, persistent. Petals as many 
as the sepals and alternate with them, generally contorted. Stamens as many as the se- 
pals, alternate with the petals; filaments monadelphous at base; anthers versatile. Ovary 1, 
2—5-celled, or by false partitions 4—10-celled; styles 2—5. Fruit usually a capsule. 
Seeds 1—2 in each cell, oily. 
LINUM ; FLAX 
Annual or perennial, sometimes woody at base. Leaves sessile; stipules none or 
mere glands. Flowers in axillary or terminal cymes or racemes or panicles. Sepals 5. 
Stamens sometimes with interspersed staminodia. Ovary 4—5-celled, or 8—10-celled 
by false partitions, the real cells 2-ovuled or the false ones l-ovuled. Capsule 4—10- 
valved. (Celtic Ilin—a thread, Gk. linon—a thread, L. linum=the flax plant; because 
cloth is made from the bast fibers.) 
A. Flowers white or pinkish or blue; leaves alternate, all entire. 
B. Petals blue, rarely white, 10—20 mm. long; leaves 1—5 cm. long, linear to 
lanceolate or oval. 
C. Perennial; petals 14—-20 mm. long; stigma short, but little longer than wide; 
capsule much exceeding the calyx. E. 
L, lewisii Pursh 
CC. Annual; petals about 10 mm. long; stigma long, much longer than wide; 
capsule about as long as the calyx. W. E. 
L. usitatissimum L. (Cultivated Flax) 
BB. Petals white or rarely pinkish, never blue, 2-5 mm. long; leaves 0.6—1.5 
cm. long, oblong-spatulate; annual. W. 
L. micranthum Gray (White Flax) 
AA. Flowers yellow; petals about 2 mm. long; plant annual; leaves mostly opposite, 
upper ones serrate, 0.51 cm. long, elliptic-spatulate. E. 
L. digynum Gray (Yellow Flax) 
POLYGALACEAE Milkwort Family 
Herbs (ours), rarely shrubs or small trees. Leaves alternate (ours) or in whorls; 
stipules none. Flowers in racemes (ours) or spikes or heads, or solitary and axillary, per- 
fect, irregular; pedicels generally 2-bracted at base. Sepals 5, very unequal, the lateral 
ones (wings) larger, colored. Petals 3 or 5, hypogynous, more or less united into a 
tube; the lower one often crested. Stamens 6 or 8, monadelphous or diadelphous; the 
tube split and adhering to the petals. Fruit 2-celled, loculicidal (ours) or indehiscent. 
POLYGALA MILK WORT 
Herbs with woody base (ours) or without, or shrubs. Leaves simple, entire. Some- 
times some flowers cleistogamous and subterranean. Petals 3; corolla-tube split on the 
back, more or less adherent to the stamens. Capsule membranous; flattish, dehiscent along 
the margin; cells 1-seeded. Seed generally hairy (so in ours). (Gk. polys—much; gala” 
==milk; the name of some Greek plant used to increase the flow of milk.) U. 
P, californica Nutt. 

oe 


