Linum puberulum
Linum alatum
desert flax, hairy flax, plains flax
wing flax
ascending, branched at base, herbaceous throughout.
spreading to suberect, branched at base.
alternate or sometimes proximal leaves opposite, appressed-ascending;
stipular glands present (conspicuous);
blade linear, 7–20 × 0.6–1.5 mm, margins entire or distal leaves sparsely glandular-toothed, ciliate, apex acute; 1-nerved.
opposite near base or alternate throughout, divergent to widely ascending;
stipular glands present;
blade linear to narrowly linear-lanceolate, 10–30 × 1–3 mm, margins entire, ciliate, apex apiculate.
open panicles.
panicles;
bracts with irregular scarious margins.
5–10 mm.
3–8 mm, stout.
sepals falling tardily, lanceolate, 4–7 mm, margins of inner sepals scarious, glandular-toothed, apex acute to acuminate, puberulent at least on midrib;
outer 3-nerved;
petals yellowish orange to salmon, with maroon or reddish base, obcordate or broadly obovate, 9–15 mm;
stamens 4–7 mm;
anthers 0.6–1.4 mm;
staminodia absent;
styles connate nearly to apex, 3–7 mm;
stigmas dark, capitate.
sepals deciduous, inner sepals somewhat shorter than outer, regularly and delicately glandular-toothed, outer sepals ovate or obovate, 6–8 mm, margins widely scarious, undulate or crenate, with sessile gland near apex of each crenation, apex conspicuously aristate;
petals yellow, grading to reddish near base, obovate, 9–18 mm;
stamens 5–8 mm;
anthers 1–2 mm;
with or without staminodia;
styles connate nearly to apex, 5–10 mm;
stigmas capitate.
ovoid-ellipsoid, 3.5–4 × 2.5–5 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa complete, proximal margin not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins ciliate.
ovoid, 3.5–4.5 × 3–3.8 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, united more than halfway, proximal part membranaceous with basal, 5-sided cartilaginous plates, distal part cartilaginous, constituting more than 1/2 of false septum, margins not ciliate.
1.5–3 × 0.9–1.3 mm.
2.3–2.8 × 1–1.3 mm.
= 30.
= 30
Linum puberulum
Linum alatum
Corollas of Linum puberulum are broadly bowl-shaped. The filaments and styles are pale pink; the stigmas are dark maroon. The pollen is bright yellow; on herbarium specimens, the anthers are golden yellow to orangish yellow, drying darker. In some flowers of L. puberulum, the styles seem to be eccentric. C. M. Rogers (1968) noted that L. puberulum is the only hairy species of Linum in western North America with united styles; its gray indument and complete false septa differentiate it from L. vernale, which is glabrous and has incomplete false septa. Linum puberulum is fairly common in the Rocky Mountain foothills and high plains; it occurs in the mountains in the eastern Mojave Desert.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Linum alatum has broadly funnelform corollas that are deep yellow distally, grading through a diffuse pale wine red band of color, the red color extending along the petal veins. The filaments, anthers, styles, and stigmas are yellow. The distinct portions of the styles spread at nearly right angles to the style axis, and the styles are sometimes eccentric. The unique gland-tipped crenations of the sepal margins set L. alatum apart from other species. Its thick pedicels and thickened cartilaginous areas on the capsule also are distinctive. The stems of L. alatum are smooth proximally, strongly ribbed distally. The species occurs in Texas in the east-central, Gulf, and southern mesquite plains regions (and adjacent Tamaulipas) with one historical record from southwestern Louisiana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
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WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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