''Linum perenne'', the perennial flax, blue flax or lint, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Linaceae Linaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family is cosmopolitan, and includes about 250 species in 14 genera, classified into two subfamilies: the Linoideae and Hugonioideae (often recognized as a distinct family, the Hugoniaceae). Leaves of ...

, native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, primarily in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and locally in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has been introduced into North America, where it can be found on mountain ridges, wooded areas, and in sandy plain habitats of the

sagebrush steppe Sagebrush steppe is a type of shrub-steppe, a plant community characterized by the presence of shrubs, and usually dominated by sagebrush, any of several species in the genus '' Artemisia''.Chrysothamnus ''Chrysothamnus'', known as rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and chamisa, are a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae. The native distribution is in the arid western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. It is known for its bright white or yell ...

''). It is a slender

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

growing to tall from a fairly woody

root crown A root crown, also known as the root collar or root neck, is that part of a root system from which a stem arises. Since roots and stems have quite different vascular The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport ...

, with tough, unbranched stems, and many spirally arranged narrow lanceolate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

1–2.5 cm long. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are blue, in diameter, and have five petals. The flowers will fall off if the stems are broken. The English populations are sometimes distinguished as ''Linum perenne'' subsp. ''anglicum'' and high altitude populations in the Alps as ''Linum perenne'' subsp. ''alpinum''. The similar western North American species ''

Linum lewisii ''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 from Alaska south to Baja California, and from the Pacific Coast east to t ...

'' is sometimes treated as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''L. perenne''. Native Americans used the stems to make fishing line and nets.

Cultivation

Cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

for garden use include 'Blue Sapphire'.

Cultivation

References

Further reading