Biology:Linum lewisii
Linum lewisii | |
---|---|
In Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, Albuquerque, NM | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Linaceae |
Genus: | Linum |
Species: | L. lewisii
|
Binomial name | |
Linum lewisii | |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
Linum lewisii (Linum perenne var. lewisii) (Lewis flax, blue flax or prairie flax) is a perennial plant in the family Linaceae, native to western North America from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to the Mississippi River.[2] It grows on ridges and dry slopes, from sea level in the north up to 11,000 feet (3,400 metres) in the Sierra Nevada.[3][4][5]
It is a slender herbaceous plant growing to 80 centimetres (31 1⁄2 inches) tall, with spirally arranged narrow lanceolate leaves 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) long. The flowers are pale blue or lavender to white, often veined in darker blue, with five petals 1–1.5 cm long.[5][6][7][8] The flowers open in the morning and fade, dropping their petals by noon on hot, sunny days.[9]
The plant was named for North American explorer Meriwether Lewis.[10]
Cultivation
Blue flax is a durable wildflower in garden conditions, never becoming overly aggressive towards other plants. Plants are easily grown from seed.[9] Blue flax grows well in lean soils without much organic matter and are healthier in well drained soils.[11]
The inflorescence is a terminal open racime.[7]
Flowers are pale blue or lavender to white, often veined in darker blue, with varying-length styles.[6]
Leaves are lanceolate, spirally arranged, 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long.[7]
References
- ↑ "Linum lewisii Pursh" (in en). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/140855-2.
- ↑ USDA Plant Profile: Linum lewisii
- ↑ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Linum lewisii". http://www.wildflowersearch.com/search?&PlantName=Linum+lewisii. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ↑ "Linum lewisii". United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LILE3. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Norman F. Weeden (1996). A Sierra Nevada Flora (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899972046. https://archive.org/details/sierranevadaflor00weed.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Klinkenberg, Brian, ed (2014). "Linum lewisii". Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Linum%20lewisii. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Giblin, David, ed (2015). "Linum lewisii". Burke Museum, University of Washington. http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Linum&Species=lewisii. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ↑ "Linum lewisii". Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=Linum%20lewisii. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-8166-1127-0.
- ↑ Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc.. p. 98.
- ↑ "Blue flax". The Taunton Press, Inc.. https://www.finegardening.com/plant/blue-flax-linum-lewisii.
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Linum lewisii. |
Wikidata ☰ Q3113824 entry
![]() | Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linum lewisii.
Read more |