Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in English as linen and are traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. Its oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant. The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant and appears to have been domesticated just once from the wild species Linum bienne, called pale flax. The plants called "flax" in New Zealand are, by contrast, members of the genus Phormium.
Linum (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species in the flowering plant family Linaceae. They are native to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. The genus includes the common flax, the bast fibre of which is used to produce linen and the seeds to produce linseed oil.
Linum bienne, the pale or narrowleaf flax, is a flowering plant in the genus Linum, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe, north to England and Ireland.
Flax is a plant cultivated for food and fiber in cooler regions of the world.
Linum perenne, the perennial flax, blue flax or lint, is a flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to Europe, primarily in the Alps and locally in England. It has been introduced into North America, where it can be found on mountain ridges, wooded areas, and in sandy plain habitats of the sagebrush steppe, growing near sagebrush and rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus).
Linum catharticum, also known as purging flax, or fairy flax, is an herbaceous flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to Great Britain, Iceland, central Europe and Western Asia. It is an annual plant and blooms in July and August.
Linum grandiflorum is a species of flax known by several common names, including flowering flax, red flax, scarlet flax, and crimson flax. It is native to Algeria, but it is known elsewhere in Northern Africa, Southern Europe and in several locations in North America as an introduced species. It is an annual herb producing an erect, branching stem lined with waxy, lance-shaped leaves 1 to 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears flowers on pedicels several centimeters long. The flower has 5 red petals each up to 3 centimeters long and stamens tipped with anthers bearing light blue pollen. It can on occasion be found as a casual well outside its normal established range; records from the British Isles, for example, are reasonably frequent but, grown as an annual, it rarely persists for more than one season.
Linum medium, common name stiff yellow flax, is a species of Linum (flax) native to eastern North America. It is found as far west as Texas and Wisconsin, east to the Atlantic ocean, north to Ontario and Maine, and south to southern Florida. It is also found in The Bahamas.
Yellow flax is a common name for several plants in the flax family (Linaceae) and may refer to:
Linum marginale, commonly known as native flax or wild flax, is a species of flowering plant in the family Linaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a perennial herb with few branches, linear leaves, and blue flowers with five usually blue petals with darker veins.
Flavum is a Latin word meaning "yellow". It is often used in taxonomy for species names typically in scientific names for animals and plants to refer to the flower colour or other aspect of the species.
Linum flavum, the golden flax or yellow flax, is a species of flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to central and southern Europe. It is an erect, woody perennial growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall by 20 cm (8 in) broad, with dark green, semi-evergreen leaves, and terminal clusters of bright yellow, five-petalled flowers in spring. The Latin flavum means "pure yellow".
Golden flax is a common name for several plants in the flax family (Linaceae), and may refer to:
Linum intercursum, common names sandplain flax and sandplain wild flax, is a perennial plant native to the United States.
Linum arboreum, called tree flax, evergreen flax and shrubby flax, is a species of Linum native to Greece, including Crete and the Aegean Islands, and Turkey. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.
Linum sulcatum, common names yellow flax, grooved yellow flax, grooved flax, and yellow wild flax is a plant native to the United States and Canada.
Linum trigynum, the French flax, is a species of annual herb in the family Linaceae. It is native to Southern Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and some oceanic islands, such as Madeira, Canary Islands and Socotra. They have a self-supporting growth form. Individuals can grow to 0.18 m tall.
Linum suffruticosum, the white flax or Pyrenean flax, is a species of flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to Spain. It is a polyploid species complex with significant morphological variation.
