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PRE — Plant Risk Evaluator

Linum perenne

Common Name(s)
blue flax, perennial flax
Synonym(s)
Linum perenne L.

Is this plant a cultivar?  No

Life History:  Perennial

Growth Form:  forb

Native to  Eurasia. This includes the Russian Federation in Western Siberia, the United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland,Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Russian Federation in Europe, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, and France.

Linum perenne is a short-lived perennial forb with narrow semi-evergreen leaves and attractive clusters of sky blue, heterostylous flowers. Though the stems are slender and delicate in appearance, they are stringy and difficult to break. Leaves are alternate, simple, and entire. Leaves are also sessile, or lacking stalks on the stems.  Blue flax typically reaches a height of 1-2 feet at maturity and the five-parted flowers mature to a width of 1 inch. Blooms are abundant, from late spring to midsummer, and each flower lasts one day. Once blooms fade, tan seedpods remain. Flax seeds and linseed oil both derive from this plant and is grown commercially for this use. Previously, flax was used to make linen and rope. 

Blue flax was introduced from Eurasia and is now common in the western United States.

External Resources
GBIF Species Page
USDA Plants Database page
US National Germplasm Database
Gardenia: Linum perenne (Perennial Flax)
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