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slenderfoot flax, sprucemont flax, Utah yellow flax

West's flax

Habit Herbs, annual or perennial, 15–50 cm, glabrous and glaucous. Herbs, perennial, 43–50 cm, glabrous.
Stems

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

erect, unbranched proximal to inflorescence.

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.

mostly opposite, appressed-erect;

stipular glands absent;

blade elliptic to oblanceolate, cauline leaves 13–17 × 3–4 mm, margins entire, apex obtuse to acute.

Inflorescences

few-flowered racemes.

of few, few-flowered panicles, branches spreading-ascending, occupying to 1/4 or less of total height.

Pedicels

(5–)20–30(–60) mm.

0.5–2.9 mm, stout.

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.

sepals persistent, inner ones broadly obovate, outer ovate, 3.1–3.6 mm, margins not scarious, inner glandular-toothed, outer entire, apex acute to acuminate;

petals pale to bright yellow, ovate, 6–7 mm;

stamen length unknown;

anther length unknown;

staminodia absent;

styles distinct, 2–3.1 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.

subglobose, 2.6–3 × 2.8–3 mm, apex abruptly short-pointed, dehiscing into 10, 1-seeded segments, segments falling freely, false septa nearly complete, ± spongy, proximal margins not ciliate.

Seeds

2.5–3 × 0.9–1.2 mm.

not seen.

2n

= 30.

= 36.

Linum subteres

Linum westii

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Sandy soils, clay, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper zones. Wet depressions in pine palmetto flatwoods, cypress-gum ponds.
Elevation 1300–2200 m. (4300–7200 ft.) 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL
[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.)

The broad, many-toothed inner sepals and subglobose, sharply pointed capsules set Linum westii apart from other species (C. M. Rogers 1984). In addition, its seeds are lunate, compared with narrowly elliptic seeds of L. floridanum and L. macrocarpum. Linum westii is known only from about 16 occurrences, all from the Florida panhandle and northeastern Florida (Clay, Franklin, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty, and Okaloosa counties, and possibly Bay County), with historical records from Baker and Calhoun counties. R. Kral (1973) considered a Chapman collection from Georgia to have been mislabelled. There are no vouchers for reports of L. westii from Mississippi.

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

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 387. FNA vol. 12, p. 384.
Parent taxa Linaceae > Linum > sect. Linopsis 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
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. subteres, L. sulcatum, L. trigynum, L. usitatissimum, L. vernale, L. virginianum
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) C. M. Rogers: Brittonia 15: 114, figs. 3(8–11). (1963)
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