FLAX
Family LINACEAE
Linum species
Perennial/Annual
A genus which includes perennial species of considerable
charm, native to Europe. The stems are slender
and branching, and clothed from the base upwards
with short, narrow, pointed grassy foliage.
Linum perenne has five-petalled flowers, one and
a half inches across, of lovely azure-blue, borne
in profusion on branching stems up to one and
a half feet; it also has a white flowered form.
Linum narbonense has similarly sized flowers of azure-blue
with an effective white centre and stamens, up
to two feet high.
Less commonly seen are Linum monogynum, a twelve-
to eighteen-inch flowering species from New Zealand.
Linum austriacum, with rather smaller violet-coloured
flowers, and Linum lewisii, the Prairie Flax, from
western America, very similar to Linum perenne.
Easily cultivated in any open position in full
sun and useful for the base of rock gardens.
The annual variety Linum grandiflorum, from Algeria,
should be sown from March to June for June to
September flowering.
Propagation is by division or from seed.
The flowering season is in late spring.
See also : Flax
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