Linum

Linum alpinum, copyright Ibex73.

Belongs within: Linaceae.

Linum, the flaxes, is a genus of herbaceous plants found in warmer regions of the world, of which the common flax L. usitatissimum is widely grown as a source of fibre.

Characters (from Hickman 1993): Annual or perennial. Stem 5–90 cm. Leaves alternate, opposite, or whorled, erect, glabrous or hairy; margins entire or gland-toothed. Inflorescence a raceme or cyme. Flower with sepals 5, margins generally translucent; petals 5, 8–25 mm; stamens 5; staminodes 5 or absent; ovary chambers 10, styles 5, free or not, stigmas wider than styles (spheric or more or less elongate) or as wide as styles (more or less linear). Fruit 5–10 mm. Seeds 10, generally gelatinous when wet.

Linum Linnaeus 1753 A61
    |--L. alpinum D37
    |--L. austriacum D37
    |--L. bienne [incl. L. angustifolium] H93
    |--L. catharticum G88
    |--L. corymbulosum PT98
    |--L. flavum T08
    |--L. gallicum C06
    |--L. humile C55b
    |--L. lewisii H93
    |    |--L. l. var. lewisii H93
    |    `--L. l. var. alpicola H93
    |--L. marginale Cunn. ex Hook. 1848 C06
    |--L. monogynum Forst. f. 1786 (see below for synonymy) A61
    |--L. perenne D37
    |--L. puberulum H93
    |--L. strictum PT98
    |    |--L. s. ssp. strictum PT98
    |    `--L. s. ssp. spicatum PT98
    |--L. trigynum Linnaeus 1753 PL04
    |--L. uninerve H09
    `--L. usitatissimum PT01

Linum monogynum Forst. f. 1786 [incl. L. monogynum var. chathamica Ckn. 1902, L. monogynum var. diffusum Sol. ex Hook. f. 1852, L. monogymnum var grandiflorum Sol. ex Hook. f. 1852] A61

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 2. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[C06] Cheeseman, T. F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. John Mackay, Government Printer: Wellington.

[D37] Dobzhansky, T. 1937. Genetics and the Origin of Species. Columbia University Press: New York.

[G88] Grubb, P. J. 1988. The uncoupling of disturbance and recruitment, two kinds of seed bank, and persistence of plant populations at the regional and local scales. Annales Zoologici Fennici 25: 23–26.

[H09] Heltmann, H. 2009. Der Königstein (Piatra Craiului), die Perle der Burzenländer Gebirge. Mauritiana 20 (3): 515–527.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[PT01] Pemberton, L. M. S., S.-L. Tsai, P. H. Lovell & P. J. Harris. 2001. Epidermal patterning in seedling roots of eudicotyledons. Annals of Botany 87: 649–654.

[PL04] Pohl, G., & I. Lenski. 2004. Zur Verbreitung und Vergesellschaftung von Pennisetum orientale Rich. in Nordeuböa (Griechenland) (Poaceae, Paniceae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 83 (2): 209–223.

[T08] Turner, F. 1908. Notes and exhibits. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 33: 290–291.