Linum australe
Linum allredii
southern flax
Allred's flax
stiffly ascending-spreading, few to many-branched.
stiffly ascending, suffrutescent from woody branching base.
alternate, appressed;
stipular glands present at basal nodes or throughout;
blade linear, 7–20 × 0.5–l.9 mm, margins entire, not ciliate, apex aristate.
alternate, tightly appressed or ascending to spreading;
stipular glands present throughout, dark;
blade linear to linear-lanceolate, proximal and midstem leaves 3–10(–12) mm, distal leaves 3–7 × 0.6–1 mm, margins of proximal and midstem leaves entire, distal serrulate, teeth usually gland-tipped, not ciliate, apex of proximal and midstem leaves mucronate, distal acuminate-aristate.
racemes.
few-flowered panicles;
bracts with irregular scarious margins.
3–15 mm.
2–3 mm, conspicuously articulated.
sepals deciduous, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 4–7 mm, margins scarious, delicately glandular-toothed, apex aristate;
petals yellow to yellow-orange throughout, oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, 5–10 mm;
stamens (3–)4–7 mm;
anthers 0.4–1 mm;
staminodia present or absent;
styles connate nearly to apex, 2–5.7 mm;
stigmas green, capitate.
sepals deciduous, lanceolate, 4.5–7 mm, margins not scarious, glandular-toothed, apex acute-aristate, glabrous; prominently 1-nerved;
petals pumpkin yellow with a wide, pale, red band distal to a deeply wine red band at base, broadly obovate, 10–13 mm;
stamens 5.5–7 mm;
anthers 1.2–1.6 mm;
staminodia absent;
styles connate nearly to apex, 7–9 mm;
stigmas dark, capitate.
ovoid, 3.2–4.5 × 2.5–3.4 mm, relatively thick-walled and with characteristic thickened areas at apex in region of true septa, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa complete, proximal part membranaceous, not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins ciliate.
ovoid, 3.7–4 × 3 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa complete, translucent, proximal part membranaceous, not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins ciliate.
2–3 × 0.8–1.3 mm.
2.4–2.7 × 0.9–1.1 mm.
Linum australe
Linum allredii
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
The stems of Linum australe are strongly ridged-sulcate to ribbed, especially distally. The corollas are broadly funnelform; petals are yellow to yellow-orange; stamens and styles are yellow; stigmas are bright to olive green. Staminodia in L. australe are short, deltoid, usually two between each pair of stamens, sometimes one or absent. Linum australe is the only species in its range that is glabrous beyond the base and has connate styles. It differs from L. aristatum, which it overlaps in the southern part of the range, in being much more highly branched and having more slender capsules. C. M. Rogers (1984) noted a compact form found in sunny areas from Wyoming northward that warrants more study.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Linum allredii is a rare endemic known from seven to 12 occurrences in the Yeso Hills border region of New Mexico and Texas, apparently restricted to gypsum soils. When Sivinski and Howard described this species, they noted that it occurs only on pale, sandy, biologically crusted gypsum distinct from adjacent, darker gypsum. The corollas are deeply bowl-shaped. The filaments and styles are the same pumpkin color as the petals, the stigmas are dark maroon, and the pollen is bright yellow. Linum allredii and L. kingii are the only species in the flora area growing from a woody base.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stipular glands present only at proximal nodes; stamens (3–)4–5 mm; styles (2–)2.7–3.3(–4) mm. | var. australe |
1. Stipular glands present at nodes throughout plant; stamens 5–7 mm; styles 3.6–5.7 mm. | var. glandulosum |
CalFlora
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
