Jepson Herbarium
		University of California, Berkeley

Directory       News       Site Map       Home

Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Annual, perennial herb [ shrub, tree, vine].
Stem: generally erect [climbing], branched, glabrous to hairy.
Leaf: cauline, alternate to opposite or whorled, simple, generally sessile, linear to obovate, entire to minutely toothed or ciliate, teeth occasionally gland-tipped; stipules small, dark-colored, spheric glands, or 0.
Inflorescence: raceme, panicle, or cyme [ spike].
Flower: bisexual, radial; sepals [4]5, free; petals = sepals in number, free to adherent; stamens 5[4 or 10], alternate petals, filaments fused basally into a cup-like structure surrounding ovary base; staminodes present, alt stamens at cup rim, or 0; ovary superior, carpels 2–5, fused, styles 2–5, = carpel number, free or partly fused.
Fruit: capsule, generally dehiscent [ drupe in some tropical species], generally 10-seeded.
13 genera, ± 250 species: cosmopolitan, most temperate, some cultivated. [McDill et al. 2009 Syst Bot 34:386–405] Hesperolinon, Sclerolinon are evolutionary lineages within Linum. —Scientific Editors: Douglas H. Goldman, Robert Patterson, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Unabridged references: [Robertson 1971 J Arnold Arbor 52:649–665]

Key to Linaceae

Annual, perennial herb.
Leaf: generally alternate, occasionally partially opposite [ whorled], ± sessile, generally glabrous; stipule glands present or 0.
Inflorescence: raceme or cyme.
Flower: inner 2 sepals overlapped by outer 3, all margins generally translucent, generally ciliate or toothed, glandular or not; petals 5–25 mm, generally ephemeral; staminodes 0 or 5; carpels 5, ovary chambers 10, styles free or fused, stigmas 5, >= style width.
Fruit: 3–10 mm diam, generally spheric, dehiscent, generally 5 or 10 segmented.
Seed: 5 or 10, lens-shaped, rounded, brown to black, generally glossy.
± 180 species: temperate & subtrop, especially Eurasia and North America. (Latin: flax) [Rogers 1984 North Amer Flora Ser II 12:1–56] Linum usitatissimum cultivated for fiber (linen) and seed for oil and food; Linum perenne, Linum grandiflorum, ornamental; some Eurasian species used in cancer treatment.

Biennial to weak perennial herb, 6–60 cm.
Stem: glabrous.
Leaf: 5–25 mm, linear to lance- linear; stipule glands 0.
Flower: sepals 4–5 mm, ovate to lanceolate, margins translucent, inner sepals minutely ciliate or toothed; petals light blue, 6–10 mm; styles free, generally <= 2 mm, stigmas linear to club-shaped.
Fruit: 4–6 mm wide, dehiscing into 10 ± adherent segments.
Seed: 2–3 mm, dark brown to black.
n=15. Garden escape; grassland, woodland, disturbed places, especially coastal; < 1000 m. Northwestern California, Cascade Range Foothills, n Sierra Nevada Foothills, Great Central Valley, Central Western California;

Previous taxon: Linum
Next taxon: Linum grandiflorum

Contact/Feedback

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

Copyright © 2012 Regents of the University of California
We encourage links to these pages, but the content may not be downloaded for reposting, repackaging, redistributing, or sale in any form, without written permission from The Jepson Herbarium.

Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.