C ! 3 o 7 1
LINUM usitatissimum*
Common Flax.
PENTANDRIA Pentagynia.
G en. Char. C a l. 5-leaved. P e ta l s 5 . C a p su le superior,
with 10 valves and 10 cells. S e ed s solitary.
Spec. Ch-a r . Calyx-leaves ovate, acute, three-nerved.
Petals crenate. Leaves lanceolate, alternate. Stem
mostly solitary.
Syn. Linum usitatissimum. Linn. Sp. PI. 397. Sm. FI.
B rit. 3 4 2 . H u d s.133. With. 3 2 1 . Hull. 66. Rel/i.
12 7 * Abbot. 7 1. Curt. Lond. fa sc . 5. t. 22.
Woodv. Med. Bot. t. 111. Mart. Rust. t. 133.
L. sylvestre, sativum plané referens. R ail Syn. 362.
N O T unfrequent in cultivated fields, flowering in July.
Root annual and fibrous. Stem upright, about a foot and
half high, generally solitary, round, leafy, smooth ; simple
below; alternately panicled above. Leaves numerous, alternate,
sessile, ovate or lanceolate, entire, 3-ribbed, smooth,
rather glaucous; for the most part sharp-pointed, the lower
ones only being short, broad and blunt. Flowers upright,
panicled, blue with a silky gloss; their petals obovate, veiny
and crenate; their calyx-leaves smooth, acute, with 3 prominent
ribs, and a membranous irregular margin. Stamina united
at their base. Stigmas thicker upwards. Capsule pointed.
Seeds elliptical, compressed, brown, highly polished.
The use of this valuable plant for producing the finest thread
is well known. Its seeds abound with mucilage, which they
impart to water, and afford by expression the common Linseed
Oil.