Linum lewisii

Plant species in the flax family

Linum lewisii

In Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, Albuquerque, NM

Conservation status

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]

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

Pursh

Varieties

* Linum lewisii var. alpicola Jeps.
* Linum lewisii var. lepagei (B.Boivin) C.M.Rogers
* Linum lewisii var. lewisii

Synonyms[2]

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

[edit]

It is a slender herbaceous plant growing to 80 centimetres (31+1⁄2 inches) tall, with spirally arranged narrow lanceolate leaves 1–3 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4 in) long. The flowers are pale blue or lavender to white, often veined in darker blue, with five petals 1–1.5 cm long and in varying length styles.[3][4][5][6] The flowers open in the morning and fade, dropping their petals by noon on hot, sunny days.[7]

* The inflorescence is a terminal open raceme.[5]

* A lavender flower

* The spirally arranged lanceolate leaves

## Etymology

[edit]

The species was named for North American explorer Meriwether Lewis.[8]

## Distribution and habitat

[edit]

The plant is native to western North America from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to the Mississippi River.[9] 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.[10][11][3]

## Cultivation

[edit]

Blue flax is a durable wildflower in garden conditions, never becoming overly aggressive towards other plants. Plants are easily grown from seed.[7] Blue flax grows well in lean soils without much organic matter and are healthier in well-drained soils.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NatureServe (3 January 2025). "Linum lewisii". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
2. ^ "Linum lewisii Pursh". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
3. ^ a b Norman F. Weeden (1996). A Sierra Nevada Flora (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899972046.
4. ^ Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2014). "Linum lewisii". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
5. ^ a b Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Linum lewisii". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
6. ^ "Linum lewisii". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
7. ^ a b 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.
8. ^ Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 98.
9. ^ USDA Plant Profile: Linum lewisii
10. ^ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Linum lewisii". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
11. ^ "Linum lewisii". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
12. ^ "Blue flax". Fine Gardening. The Taunton Press, Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2023.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Linum lewisii.

Taxon identifiers

Linum lewisii|

* Wikidata: Q3113824
* Wikispecies: Linum lewisii
* BioLib: 214216
* Calflora: 4908
* CoL: 3V4TM
* EoL: 581593
* EPPO: LIULE
* FEIS: linlew
* FNA: 250101693
* GBIF: 2873876
* GRIN: 22342
* iNaturalist: 60490
* IPNI: 140855-2
* ITIS: 29214
* NatureServe: 2.148027
* NCBI: 586382
* Open Tree of Life: 969831
* Plant List: tro-18700040
* PLANTS: LILE3
* POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:140855-2
* Tropicos: 18700040
* VASCAN: 6551
* WFO: wfo-0001073419

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