Flax
Flax flower with white stamens, Dorset
Deeper blue of flower in the rain
Pointed sepals
Capsule and sepals
Upper and lower leaves
Linum usitatissimum
Cultivated Flax
Linaceae
June to September
It is scattered throughout the country, but is less common
in the North
See the BSBI distribution map for Flax
It grows by roads, around fields and on waste ground and
rubbish tips.
It is a neophyte which was introduced in the 13th century
for the manufacture of linen and has had a resurgence
in the late 20th century for the production of linseed oil.
It has been known as an escape since the 1630s and
continues to escape, but rarely persists.
Flax is an annual, delicate looking herb, which is in
reality quite tough and wiry, and grows up to 80cm.
The flowers are pale blue with lilac markings and up to
24mm.
The petals are bigger and rounder, and the sepals
longer and sharper than in Pale Flax.
In examples I have seen, the club-shaped stamens
are white compared to blue-purple in Pale Flax.
The fruit capsules are spherical, beaked and with
short, spreading sepals.
Upper leaves are greyish and lanceolate to linear.
Lower, stem leaves, are shorter and broader.
Stems are greyish, branched and wiry.
Previous page: Field Scabious
Next page: Fodder Vetch
Flax flower with white stamens, Dorset
Deeper blue of flower in the rain
Pointed sepals
Capsule and sepals
Upper and lower leaves
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