Linum (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species in the flowering plant family Linaceae. They are native to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. The genus includes the common flax (L. usitatissimum), the bast fibre of which is used to produce linen and the seeds to produce linseed oil.
The flowers of most species are blue or yellow, rarely red, white, or pink, and some are heterostylous. There is an average of 6 to 10 seeds per boll.
Linum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Cabbage Moth, The Nutmeg, the Setaceous Hebrew Character and Coleophora striolatella, which feeds exclusively on Linum narbonense.
Several flaxes are cultivated as garden ornamentals, including the blue-flowered species blue flax (L. narbonense), Lewis' blue flax (L. lewisii), and perennial blue flax (L. perenne), the red-flowered scarlet flax (L. grandiflorum), and the yellow-flowered golden flax (L. flavum).
Linum alatum - winged flaxLinum arenicola - sand flaxLinum aristatum - bristle flaxLinum australe - southern flaxLinum austriacum - Asian flaxLinum berlandieri - Berlandier's yellow flaxLinum bienne (syn. L. angustifolium) – pale flaxLinum campanulatumLinum carteri - Carter's flaxLinum catharticum – fairy flaxLinum compactum - Wyoming flaxLinum cratericola - Galápagos Islands flaxLinum dolomiticumLinum elongatum - Laredo flaxLinum flavum - golden flaxLinum floridanum - Florida yellow flaxLinum grandiflorum – scarlet flax, flowering flaxLinum hirsutum - downy flaxLinum hudsonioides - Texas flaxLinum imbricatum - tufted flaxLinum intercursum - sandplain flaxLinum kingii - King's flaxLinum leoniLinum lewisii - Lewis' blue flax, Lewis flaxLinum lundellii - Sullivan City flaxLinum macrocarpum - Spring Hill flaxLinum marginale - Australian native flaxLinum medium - stiff yellow flaxLinum narbonense - blue flaxLinum neomexicanum - New Mexico yellow flaxLinum perenne – perennial blue flaxLinum pratense - meadow flaxLinum puberulum – plains flaxLinum pubescensLinum rigidum - stiffstem flaxLinum rupestre - rock flaxLinum schiedeanum - Schiede's flaxLinum striatum - ridged yellow flaxLinum subteres - Sprucemont flax, slenderfoot flaxLinum suffruticosumLinum sulcatum - grooved flaxLinum tenuifoliumLinum trigynum - French flaxLinum usitatissimum – common cultivated flaxLinum vernal - Chihuahuan flaxLinum virginianum - woodland flaxLinum westii - West's flax
