Western Blue Flax
Linum lewisii Pursh
Synonym: L. perenne
Family: Linaceae, Flax
Genus: Linum
Description
General: hairless and somewhat bluish-waxy-coated
perennial 10-60 cm tall, with several stems, branching
above, from a woody root crown.
Leaves: alternate, linear, numerous, 1-3 cm long and
about 2 mm broad, 1-nerved, pointed to rounded, slightly
smaller upwards on the stem.
Flowers: few in small, open clusters, the flower stalks
slender, about as long as the flowers, usually curved back
in fruit. The 5 sepals 4-7 mm long, the edges membranous,
entire. The 5 petals showy, blue, 10-23 mm long, soon
dropped. Stamens 5, joined at the base and forming a very
short tube bearing small toothlike staminodia, about 1 mm
long, alternate with the filaments. Styles 5, considerably
longer than the stamens, the stigmas round.
Flowering time: May-July.
Fruits: capsules, rounded, 10-celled, splitting
lengthwise along the seams, with 1 or 2 seeds per cell.
The seeds are flattened to rounded, often becoming slimy
when wetted.
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