Comments
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“Flax” is cultivated in the plains to c. 1900 m. alt. s. m. It is grown for its bast fibres from which linen cloth and ropes are made. Linseed oil, “Alsi-ka-tel”, is extracted from the seeds which are also medicinal, while the “seed-cake” is used for feeding cattle.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Comments
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This species is used for fiber and oil.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Description
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Annual herb, 20 cm to 1 m tall. Stem erect, glabrous, branched at the base. Leaves alternate, linear to lanceolate, 1-3.5 cm long, 1.5-3 mm broad, 3-nerved. Flowers in corymbose racemes, blue; pedicel 1.5-2 cm long. Sepals imbricate, 5-8 mm long, ovate, acuminate, 3-nerved; margin white. Petals linear to lanceolate, c. 12 mm long, contorted. Stamens 5; staminodes absent; filament c. 8 mm long; anthers 2 mm long, bi-Lobed. Ovary ovoid, styles free, c. 3 mm long; stigma linear, 1.5 mm long. Capsule sub-globose, c. 1 cm long, beaked: seeds c. 5 mm long, ellipsoid, dark brown, shiny.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Description
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Annuals 30-120 cm tall. Stems simple, cylindric, erect, woody at base, apically corymbosely branched. Leaves alternate, linear, linear-lanceolate, or lanceolate, 2-4 cm × 1-5 mm, 3(or 5)-veined from base, base attenuate, apex acute. Flowers axillary, solitary or in broad cymes, 15-20 mm in diam. Pedicel 1-3 cm, erect. Sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5-8 mm, 3(or 5)-veined from base, nonglandular, margin entire or ciliate, apex acute to acuminate. Petals blue, rarely white or red, obovate, 0.8-1.2 cm. Styles distinct; stigma linear-clavate. Capsule globose, 6-9 mm in diam., septicidal, with 10 seeds. Seeds brown, oblong, flattened, 3.5-4 mm. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 30.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
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Cultivated in temperate regions and in India, Kashmir, Tibet.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Distribution
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Distribution: Widely cultivated in Europe and Asia. Origin unknown but the plant has been in cultivation from prehistoric times.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Elevation Range
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150-3800 m
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Flower/Fruit
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Fl. Per. Feb-May.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Habitat & Distribution
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Cultivated throughout China except Hainan and Taiwan, sometimes naturalized [origin uncertain but possibly the Mediterranean region and/or parts of W Asia and W Europe, widely cultivated].
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
Synonym
provided by eFloras
Linum humile Miller.
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- Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA