Linum australe |
Linum rupestre |
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southern flax |
rock flax |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, 10–50 cm, puberulent near base, otherwise glabrous. | Herbs, perennial, 20–75 cm, glabrous or rarely sparsely hairy proximally. | ||||
Stems | stiffly ascending-spreading, few to many-branched. |
erect, branched at 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. |
opposite near base or alternate throughout, appressed-ascending; stipular glands present; blade linear to linear-lanceolate, 8–20 × 0.5–2.1 mm, margins entire or with scattered minute marginal glands, not ciliate, apex acute; 1-nerved. |
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Inflorescences | racemes. |
panicles, with ascending to spreading branches. |
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Pedicels | 3–15 mm. |
0–3 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. |
sepals persistent, lanceolate to ovate, 2.5–5 mm, margins of inner sepals narrowly scarious, conspicuously glandular-toothed, apex acute or acuminate; petals lemon yellow, oblanceolate or narrowly obcordate, 7–11 mm; stamens 2–8 mm; anthers 0.5–1 mm; staminodia present; styles distinct, 3–6.5 mm; stigmas capitate. |
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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. |
ovoid, 2–3 × 2–2.5 mm, apex sharp-pointed, dehiscing readily into 10, 1-seeded segments, segments falling freely, false septa incomplete, false and true septa margins ciliate. |
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Seeds | 2–3 × 0.8–1.3 mm. |
1.2–1.9 × 0.7–1.1 mm. |
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2n | = 36. |
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Linum australe |
Linum rupestre |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Sandy soils, rocky slopes and ledges, often on limestone. | |||||
Elevation | 150–1500 m. (500–4900 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; MT; NM; NV; TX; UT; WY; AB; Mexico
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NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León); Central America (Guatemala)
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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 rupestre has narrowly funnelform corollas and yellow stamens and styles. The anthers and stigmas are held closely adjacent at the mouth of the corolla tube, below the broad, spreading limbs. The species occurs from southeastern New Mexico and central Texas to Guatemala. It often grows with L. schiedeanum in Texas and Mexico. (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. 381. | ||||
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | ||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | A. Heller: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 25: 627. (1898) | Engelmann ex A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 232. (1850) | ||||
Web links |