Linum australe |
Linum bienne |
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southern flax |
flax, narrow-leaf flax, pale flax |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, 10–50 cm, puberulent near base, otherwise glabrous. | Herbs, biennial or short-lived perennial (flowering 1st year), 6–60 cm, glabrous. | ||||
Stems | stiffly ascending-spreading, few to many-branched. |
erect, usually branched from near base and in inflorescence. |
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Leaves | 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. |
blade linear to linear-lanceolate, 5–25 × 1–1.5 mm. |
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Inflorescences | racemes. |
open panicles. |
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Pedicels | 3–15 mm. |
10–25 mm. |
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Flowers | 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. |
homostylous; sepals ovate, 4–5.5 mm, margins of inner sepals minutely ciliate, outer glabrous, apex acute to acuminate; petals blue, obovate, 6–10 mm; stamens 4–5 mm; anthers 1–2.5 mm; staminodia present or absent; styles distinct, 2 mm; stigmas linear or clavate. |
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Capsules | 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. |
broadly ovate to subglobose, 4–6 × 4–6 mm, apex very sharp-pointed, segments ± persistent on plant, margins ciliate. |
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Seeds | 2–3 × 0.8–1.3 mm. |
2.5–3 × 1.5–2 mm. |
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2n | = 30. |
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Linum australe |
Linum bienne |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Grasslands, woodlands, disturbed places. | |||||
Elevation | 0–1900 m. (0–6200 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; MT; NM; NV; TX; UT; WY; AB; Mexico
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CA; OR; PA; BC; Europe; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina, Chile), Pacific Islands (New Zealand)]
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Discussion | 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 bienne is thought to be the progenitor of L. usitatissimum (D. J. Ockendon 1971). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 390. | FNA vol. 12, p. 374. | ||||
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linum | ||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | L. angustifolium | |||||
Name authority | A. Heller: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 25: 627. (1898) | Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Linum no. 8. (1768) | ||||
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