Linum usitatissimum L.
linseed
Stout annual herb up to 80-(100) cm high. Stems glabrous, usually simple or sometimes somewhat branched at base. Stem lvs always alternate, glabrous, lanceolate to linear, usually obovate or oblong at base of stem, acuminate, 3-nerved, entire, (5)-10-40 mm long; lvs subtending infl.-branches single, similar to stem lvs but usually somewhat smaller. Infl. of few to numerous fls in a diffuse compound dichasium or corymb; sepals elliptic to suborbicular, acuminate, (5)-6-10 mm long, < capsule, with glabrous entire margins; petals white or pale to dark blue, 2-3× as long as sepals, (10)-12-18-(20) mm long; styles united for c. ⅓ length. Capsule glabrous, subglobose, indehiscent or subdehiscent, (6)-8-10-(12) mm diam.; seeds elliptic and narrowed to base, shiny light to dark brown, 4-5 mm long.
N.: Palmerston North, Levin; S.: Nelson City, Seddon, lowland Canterbury and Otago, Invercargill.
Origin uncertain 1870
A casual of waste places and stony ground.
FL Oct-Apr.
Poisonous (Connor 1977).
L. usitatissimum is grown for its fibre (flax) and for the linseed oil extracted from the seeds. The sp. has a long history of cultivation, and is not known to be native anywhere, but may be derived from L. bienne from which it is only distinguished by its generally larger size and the subdehiscent capsules.
