Linum lewisii
In Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, Albuquerque, NM

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Linaceae
Genus: Linum
Species:
L. lewisii
Binomial name
Linum lewisii
Synonyms[1]
  • Adenolinum lewisii Kellogg
  • Linum decurrens Kellogg
  • Linum lyallanum Alef.

Linum lewisii (Linum perenne var. lewisii) (Lewis flax, blue flax or prairie flax) is a perennial plant in the family Linaceae, native to western North America from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to the Mississippi River.[2] It grows on ridges and dry slopes, from sea level in the north up to 11,000 feet (3,400 metres) in the Sierra Nevada.[3][4][5]

It is a slender herbaceous plant growing to 80 centimetres (31+1⁄2 inches) tall, with spirally arranged narrow lanceolate leaves 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) long. The flowers are pale blue or lavender to white, often veined in darker blue, with five petals 1–1.5 cm long.[5][6][7][8] The flowers open in the morning and fade, dropping their petals by noon on hot, sunny days.[9]

The plant was named for North American explorer Meriwether Lewis.[10]

Cultivation

Blue flax is a durable wildflower in garden conditions, never becoming overly aggressive towards other plants. Plants are easily grown from seed.[9] Blue flax grows well in lean soils without much organic matter and are healthier in well drained soils.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Linum lewisii Pursh". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. ↑ USDA Plant Profile: Linum lewisii
  3. ↑ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Linum lewisii". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  4. ↑ "Linum lewisii". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  5. 1 2 Norman F. Weeden (1996). A Sierra Nevada Flora (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899972046.
  6. 1 2 Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2014). "Linum lewisii". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  7. 1 2 3 Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Linum lewisii". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  8. ↑ "Linum lewisii". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  9. 1 2 Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-8166-1127-0.
  10. ↑ Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 98.
  11. ↑ "Blue flax". Fine Gardening. The Taunton Press, Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
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