Linum rigidum |
Linum trigynum |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
stiffstem flax |
French flax |
|||||
Habit | Herbs, annual, 15–50 cm, glabrous throughout or puberulent near base of stem. | Herbs, annual, 10–50 cm, glabrous. | ||||
Stems | erect, branches few, fastigiate or spreading-ascending. |
erect or spreading, few-branched. |
||||
Leaves | alternate, erect; stipular glands present or absent; blade linear, 11–30 × 0.7–1.6 mm, margins entire or distally sparsely toothed, not ciliate, apex acute. |
alternate, spreading to ascending; stipular glands absent; blade linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 5–10 × 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, not ciliate, apex acuminate. |
||||
Inflorescences | panicles or cymes. |
panicles. |
||||
Pedicels | 4.5–9 mm. |
1–5 mm. |
||||
Flowers | sepals deciduous, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, 5.5–9.5 mm, margins of inner sepals conspicuously scarious, all conspicuously glandular-toothed, apex sharply acute to acuminate; petals coppery yellow or orange, red-lined or with short pale to deep brown-red zone at base, obovate with short claw, 6–18 mm; stamens 6–8 mm; anthers 1–1.8(–2.3) mm; staminodia absent; styles connate nearly to apex, 3–11 mm; stigmas pale, capitate. |
sepals persistent, lanceolate to ovate, 3–4 mm, margins of inner sepals broadly scarious, densely glandular-ciliate, glandular-toothed, apex acuminate to setaceous; petals lemon yellow, oblong to obovate, 4–6 mm; stamens 1.5 mm; anthers 0.3 mm; staminodia present or absent; styles distinct, 1 mm; stigmas linear. |
||||
Capsules | ellipsoid, 3.5–4.5 × 2.6–3.4 mm, apex obtuse, dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments blunt or subacute, persistent on plant, false septa complete, proximal part membranaceous, not terminating in loose fringe, distal part cartilaginous, margins not ciliate. |
subglobose, 2 mm diam., apex sharp-pointed (easily crushed), readily dehiscing into 5, 2-seeded segments, segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, margins of true septa ciliate. |
||||
Seeds | 2.6–3.6 × 0.9–1.2 mm. |
1.1 × 0.9–1 mm. |
||||
2n | = 30. |
= 20. |
||||
Linum rigidum |
Linum trigynum |
|||||
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul. | |||||
Habitat | Grasslands. | |||||
Elevation | 100–200 m. (300–700 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AR; CO; IA; IL; KS; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WI; WY; AB; MB; SK; n Mexico
|
CA; s Europe; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia] |
||||
Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). The corollas of Linum rigidum are funnelform at the base, opening out into a broader bowl. The styles and stamens are yellow, although the distinct portion of the style may be slightly maroon; the stigmas are grayish or light green. The stems of L. rigidum are angled. Its capsule walls are so thin that the dark seeds can be seen through them. C. M. Rogers (1984) noted that L. australe, L. berlandieri, L. compactum, and both varieties of L. rigidum are closely related, and that there is some overlap in character expressions, not easily resolved in a dichotomous key. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Linum trigynum is one of three species in sect. Linopsis subsect. Halolinum (Planchon) C. M. Rogers. This section is characterized as having separate styles, linear stigmas, and incomplete false septa. Linum trigynum is homostylous; the other two species, L. maritimum Linnaeus and L. tenue Desfontaines, are heterostylous. Two populations of L. trigynum have been reported in Sonoma County on the Jenner and Fort Ross State Historic Park headlands, both with hundreds of individuals and apparently persisting. Where native, the species sometimes occurs on serpentine soils, and it is reported as a weed in western Australia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
||||
Key |
|
|||||
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 391. | FNA vol. 12, p. 394. | ||||
Parent taxa | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | L. gallicum | |||||
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 210. (1813) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 279. (1753) | ||||
Web links |