Linum lewisii

Linum lewisii
	In Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, Albuquerque, NM
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
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
	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 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

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

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.^[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

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

↑ NatureServe (3 January 2025). "Linum lewisii". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
↑ "Linum lewisii Pursh". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
1 2 Norman F. Weeden (1996). A Sierra Nevada Flora (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899972046.
↑ 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. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
1 2 Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Linum lewisii". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
↑ "Linum lewisii". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
1 2 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.
↑ Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 98.
↑ USDA Plant Profile: Linum lewisii
↑ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Linum lewisii". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
↑ "Linum lewisii". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
↑ "Blue flax". Fine Gardening. The Taunton Press, Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2023.

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[NatureServe-1] NatureServe (3 January 2025). "Linum lewisii". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 24 January 2025.

[POWO-2] "Linum lewisii Pursh". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 January 2025.

[Weeden-3] 1 2 Norman F. Weeden (1996). A Sierra Nevada Flora (4th ed.). Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899972046.

[Klinkenberg2014-4] 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. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[WTU_Herbarium2015-5] 1 2 Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Linum lewisii". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[Jepson-6] "Linum lewisii". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[Jewels-7] 1 2 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.

[Sagebrush-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

[Sullivan2015-10] Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Linum lewisii". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[PLANTS-11] "Linum lewisii". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[FineGardening-12] "Blue flax". Fine Gardening. The Taunton Press, Inc. Retrieved 30 May 2023.

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