[Illustration: BLUE PRAIRIE FLAX]
Leaves simple; sepals usually 5, free or united at base; petals usually
5, soon falling; stamens 5, united at base; styles 3-5, thread-like;
capsules 3-5-celled.
Blue Prairie Flax (_Linum lewisii_) has lovely sky-blue flowers, 1-1½
in. across. The petals are veined with purple and drop off in the heat
of the day or upon being disturbed. This flax is a slender, branched
plant with a perennial root. It is very abundant on the prairies in the
vicinity of Ft. Worth and Dallas, blooming there in May, and ranges to
Arizona and Southern Canada. It may grow 1-2 ft. high, but in Texas it
is often only about 8 in. high.
This flax is very much like the European perennial flax (_Linum
perenne_) and the cultivated flax (_Linum usitatissimum_), from which
flax fiber is obtained. “Linum” is the ancient Latin name for the flax
plants. Many of them are showy plants of horticultural importance; for
even though the flowers last only a few hours, the plants bear a
profusion of blooms. They are valuable for Texas gardens, as they do
best in sunny places. Flaxes may often be identified by the dropping off
of the petals.
[Illustration: YELLOW PRAIRIE FLAX]
Yellow Prairie Flax (_Linum sulcatum_) is a leafy, much-branched plant,
8-16 in. tall, with large yellow petals, orange-red and veined at the
base. The leaves are narrow, about 1 inch long. The flaxes have 5
styles, sometimes united, as in this plant, and sometimes separate, but
often remaining on the capsule until the seeds are shed.
The yellow flaxes are sometimes separated from the blue-flowered ones
and called _Cathartolinum_. There are many of them in the state, most of
them so closely related that only an expert can distinguish them. They
bloom from March until June. In the southern part the commonest one is
the dwarf flax (_Linum multicaule_), which has its stems densely covered
with short leaves. _Linum rigidum_ is a large-flowered flax with stiff
stems common on prairies from Texas to Southern Canada. It has been
reported as poisonous to sheep in the Pecos Valley.