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slenderfoot flax, sprucemont flax, Utah yellow flax

Habit Herbs, annual or perennial, 15–50 cm, glabrous and glaucous.
Stems

stiffly spreading-ascending, branched at base and distal to middle.

Leaves

alternate or proximalmost opposite, crowded at base, appressed-ascending;

stipular glands absent;

blade oblanceolate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 8–17 × 1.2–2.3 mm, margins entire, not ciliate, apex apiculate.

Inflorescences

few-flowered racemes.

Pedicels

(5–)20–30(–60) mm.

Flowers

sepals persistent, lanceolate to lance-ovate, 4.5–7 mm, margins narrowly scarious, inner sepals conspicuously toothed, outer ones very coarsely glandular-toothed, sometimes sparsely so, apex acuminate or narrowly acute;

petals lemon yellow, obovate, 9–15 mm;

stamens 5–7 mm;

anthers 1–2 mm;

staminodia absent;

styles connate to within 0.8–3 mm of apex, 5.7–9 mm;

stigmas capitate.

Capsules

ovoid (distinctly longer than broad), 3.5–4.6 × 2.5–3.1 mm, apex sharp-pointed, dehiscing completely into 5, 2-seeded segments (very easily crushed), segments persistent on plant, false septa incomplete, proximal margins terminating in loose fringe, cartilaginous plates at base of segments poorly developed.

Seeds

2.5–3 × 0.9–1.2 mm.

2n

= 30.

Linum subteres

Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Sandy soils, clay, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper zones.
Elevation 1300–2200 m. (4300–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Linum subteres is most closely related to L. vernale; it has lemon yellow petals, rather than orange to salmon-colored with a maroon base, and relatively thick, crowded, broad basal leaves (C. M. Rogers 1984). Leaves on the proximal half of each stem are closely spaced and imbricate; distal branches and inflorescence are widely spaced and subtended by closely appressed, relatively long, narrow leaves or bracts, giving the upper part of the plant a leafless look.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 387.
Parent taxa Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis
Sibling taxa
L. alatum, L. allredii, L. arenicola, L. aristatum, L. australe, L. berlandieri, L. bienne, L. carteri, L. catharticum, L. compactum, L. elongatum, L. floridanum, L. grandiflorum, L. harperi, L. hudsonioides, L. imbricatum, L. intercursum, L. kingii, L. lewisii, L. lundellii, L. macrocarpum, L. medium, L. neomexicanum, L. perenne, L. pratense, L. puberulum, L. rigidum, L. rupestre, L. schiedeanum, L. striatum, L. sulcatum, L. trigynum, L. usitatissimum, L. vernale, L. virginianum, L. westii
Synonyms L. aristatum var. subteres, L. leptopoda
Name authority (Trelease) H. J. P. Winkler: in H. G. A. Engler et al., Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2, 19a: 116. (1931)
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