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Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Common Flax - Linum usitatissimum
Other Names:  Linseed

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Non-native Species

Global Rank: GNR
State Rank: SNA
C-value: 1


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

 
General Description
Annual. Stems 20–80 cm, mostly unbranched. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 1–3 cm long. Flowers blue (white); sepals ovate, 6–8 mm long, the inner ciliate; petals 10–15 mm long; styles distinct. Capsule 6–8 mm long, splitting into 10 1-seeded segments (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Range Comments
Introduced from Europe, cultivated for fiber and oil; sporadic in western North America (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 2120

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat

Ecology
POLLINATORS
The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap: Bombus bifarius (Thorp et al. 1983).

Management

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
    • Thorp, R.W., D.S. Horning, and L.L. Dunning. 1983. Bumble bees and cuckoo bumble bees of California (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 23:1-79.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Buchanan, R. 1987. A Weavers Garden. Loveland: Interweave Press.
    • Jones, W. W. 1901. Preliminary flora of Gallatin County. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State College. 78 pp.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Thompson, W. L. 1993. Ecology of Merriam's Turkeys in relation to burned and logged areas in southeastern Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 195 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Common Flax"
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Citation for data on this website:
Common Flax — Linum usitatissimum.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from