Linum lewisii

{{Speciesbox

| image = Linum lewisii, blue flax, Albuquerque.JPG

| image_alt = Light blue flowers scattered over thin green stems in a field of tan grasses

| image_caption = In Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, Albuquerque, NM

| status = {{TNCStatus}}

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{Cite NatureServe |date=3 January 2025 |id=2.148027 |title=Linum lewisii |access-date=24 January 2025}}

| genus = Linum

| species = lewisii

| authority = Pursh

| subdivision_ranks = Varieties

| subdivision_ref =

| subdivision = {{Species list

| Linum lewisii var. alpicola |Jeps.

| Linum lewisii var. lepagei | (B.Boivin) C.M.Rogers

| Linum lewisii var. lewisii |

}}

| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=140855-2 |title=Linum lewisii Pursh |access-date=24 January 2025}}

| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list

| Adenolinum lewisii | (Pursh) Á.Löve & D.Löve

| Linum perenne var. lewisii | (Pursh) Eaton & Wright

| Linum perenne subsp. lewisii | (Pursh) Hultén

| Linum sibiricum var. lewisii | (Pursh) Lindl.

}}

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.

Description

It is a slender herbaceous plant growing to {{convert|80|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} tall, with spirally arranged narrow lanceolate leaves {{convert|1–3|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long. The flowers are pale blue or lavender to white, often veined in darker blue, with five petals 1–1.5 cm long and in varying length styles.{{cite book |author=Norman F. Weeden |url=https://archive.org/details/sierranevadaflor00weed |title=A Sierra Nevada Flora |publisher=Wilderness Press |year=1996 |isbn=9780899972046 |edition=4th |url-access=registration}}{{cite web |url=http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Linum%20lewisii |editor-last= Klinkenberg | editor-first= Brian | date= 2014 | title= Linum lewisii | website= E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. | publisher= Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver | accessdate= 2018-01-17}}{{cite web | url= http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Linum&Species=lewisii | editor-last= Giblin | editor-first= David | date= 2015 | title= Linum lewisii | website= WTU Herbarium Image Collection | publisher= Burke Museum, University of Washington | accessdate= 2018-01-17}}{{cite web | url= http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=Linum%20lewisii | date= 2015 | title= Linum lewisii | website= Jepson eFlora: Taxon page | publisher= Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley | accessdate= 2018-01-17}} The flowers open in the morning and fade, dropping their petals by noon on hot, sunny days.

File:Blue flax Linum lewisii flower close.jpg|The inflorescence is a terminal open raceme.

File:Linum lewisii 9620.JPG|A lavender flower

File:Linum lewisii 9746.JPG|The spirally arranged lanceolate leaves

Etymology

The species was named for North American explorer Meriwether Lewis.{{Cite book|last=Reiner|first=Ralph E.|title=Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies|publisher=Glacier Park, Inc.|year=1969|page=98}}

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to western North America from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to the Mississippi River.[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LILE3 USDA Plant Profile: Linum lewisii] It grows on ridges and dry slopes, from sea level in the north up to {{convert|11000|ft|abbr=off}} in the Sierra Nevada.{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Steven. K. |date=2015 |title=Linum lewisii |url=http://www.wildflowersearch.com/search?&PlantName=Linum+lewisii |accessdate=2018-01-17 |website=Wildflower Search}}{{cite web |date=2015 |title=Linum lewisii |url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LILE3 |accessdate=2018-01-17 |website=PLANTS Database |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service}}

Cultivation

Blue flax is a durable wildflower in garden conditions, never becoming overly aggressive towards other plants. Plants are easily grown from seed.{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |page=18}} Blue flax grows well in lean soils without much organic matter and are healthier in well-drained soils.{{cite web |title=Blue flax |url=https://www.finegardening.com/plant/blue-flax-linum-lewisii |website=Fine Gardening |publisher=The Taunton Press, Inc. |access-date=30 May 2023}}