Linum lewisii |
Linum neomexicanum |
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blue flax, Lewis blue flax, Lewis' flax, Lewis' or wild blue flax, prairie flax, western blue flax, wild blue flax |
New Mexico yellow flax |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 5–80 cm, glabrous or glabrate throughout, ± glaucous. | Herbs, annual, 15–60 cm, glabrous, sometimes glaucous. | ||||||||
Stems | erect to spreading or ascending, branched from near base and in inflorescence. |
erect or shortly decumbent at base, becoming erect, branched from near base. |
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Leaves | blade linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, 5–30 × 0.5–3(–4.5) mm. |
usually only proximalmost opposite, sometimes to midstem, distal alternate, erect to ± spreading; stipular glands absent; blade of proximal leaves narrowly to broadly elliptic-oblanceolate, 10–15 × 1.5–2.5 mm, margins entire, not ciliate, apex subacute to acuminate; 1-nerved. |
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Inflorescences | open panicles or racemes. |
slender thyrses. |
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Pedicels | 5–20 mm. |
1–4 mm. |
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Flowers | homostylous; sepals elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 3.5–6 mm, margins glabrous, apex acute; petals usually blue, sometimes white, base whitish or yellowish, cuneate-obovate, 6–23 mm; stamens 3–10 mm; anthers 1–2.2 mm; staminodia present; styles distinct, 2–12 mm; stigmas thickened ellipsoid-capitate. |
sepals persistent, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 3–5.3 mm, margins not scarious, inner ones conspicuously glandular-toothed, outer entire or very sparsely glandular-toothed, apex acute to acuminate; petals yellow, oblanceolate, 4–7 mm; stamens 3–5 mm; anthers 1–1.5 mm; staminodia absent; styles distinct, 1.5–3 mm; stigmas capitate. |
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Capsules | ovoid globose, 4–8 × 5–6 mm, apex acute, segments ± persistent on plant, margins arachnoid-ciliate. |
triangular-ovoid to broadly ovoid, 2.5–3.5 × 2.7–3.5 mm, apex obtuse, somewhat tardily dehiscing into 10, 1-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, proximal margins ciliate. |
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Seeds | 2.5–5 × 1.5–3 mm. |
2–2.5 × 1.1–1.3 mm. |
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2n | = 18. |
= 26. |
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Linum lewisii |
Linum neomexicanum |
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Phenology | Flowering (Mar–)Jul–Sep(–Nov). | |||||||||
Habitat | Pine and oak woodlands. | |||||||||
Elevation | (600–)1300–2900 m. ((2000–)4300–9500 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AR; AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; LA; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; n Mexico
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AZ; NM; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Sonora)
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Linum lewisii grows in many habitats in western North America from northern Mexico to Alaska east to the Great Plains in the United States and to the west side of Hudson and James bays in Canada; it appears to be less common in the Great Basin. A component of wildflower seed mixes, the species may be expanding its range. Some authors have considered it conspecific with L. perenne, and many collections in herbaria are identified as L. perenne without an indication of variety; they are most likely L. lewisii var. lewisii (D. J. Ockendon 1971; C. M. Rogers 1984). Because of the prevalence of L. bienne, L. perenne, and L. usitatissimum in bird seed and wildflower mixes, it may be that these three non-natives are becoming more common than in the past. Capitate stigmas distinguish L. lewisii from L. bienne and L. usitatissimum, which have linear or clavate stigmas. Distinguishing L. lewisii from L. perenne is more difficult: the size of flower parts in the homostyled L. lewisii varies along elevational and latitudinal gradients, with smaller flowers and flower parts in higher elevations and higher latitudes; except in var. lepagei, the styles are always longer than the stamens. In the heterostyled L. perenne, populations usually include plants in which flowers have stamens much longer than the very short styles (short-styled form) and plants in which flowers have stamens much shorter than the very long styles, up to twice as long as the stamens (long-styled form). C. A. Kearns and D. W. Inouye (1994) reported that Linum lewisii is facultatively autogamous but tends not to set seed in the absence of pollinators; small bees and flies are the most common pollinators. A. Cronquist et al. (1997b) reported unusual populations of L. lewisii on sandy soil in Nye County, Nevada, in the 40-Mile-Canyon drainage, that had persistent, ascending, pale blue petals with darker veins. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Within its range, Linum neomexicanum is the only species of Linum with yellow flowers and distinct styles. Its inflorescence is more slender than other species. The corollas are nearly rotate and the styles may be at nearly right angles to the flower axis, to spreading, or to ultimately ascending. J. R. McDill (2009) found that L. neomexicanum is most closely related to L. kingii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 375. | FNA vol. 12, p. 381. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linum | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | ||||||||
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Synonyms | L. perenne subsp. lewisii, L. perenne var. lewisii | |||||||||
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 210. (1813) | Greene: Bot. Gaz. 6: 183. (1881) — (as neo-mexicanum) | ||||||||
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