BERLANDIER'S FLAX
File Size: 116 KB
 
Linum berlandieri  Hook.  var. berlandieri 
Smoky Valley Ranch, Logan County, Kansas
Annual
Height: 2-16 inches
Family: Linaceae - Flax Family
Flowering Period:   April, May, June
Stems: Erect, often much-branched above, stiff, leafy, mostly glabrous.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, sessile, linear to linear-lanceolate, 1/2 to 1 inch long, to 1/6 inch wide; margins entire to slightly toothed; tips pointed; mid-stem leaves usually with prominent glands at bases.
Inflorescences: Panicle-like, open, somewhat flat-topped, mostly terminal.
Flowers: 1 to 2 inches wide; sepals 5, lanceolate, overlapping, conspicuously glandular-toothed; petals 5, yellowish orange, reddish brown veins at bases; stamens 5, anthers yellow; styles 5, united below middle.
Fruits: Capsules, thick, egg-shaped, 5-segmented, each segment 2-seeded; seeds small, flattened, brownish.
Habitat: Dry sandy or gravelly prairies.
Distribution: West 1/2 of Kansas.
Comments: In Kansas, these plants are often less than 6 inches tall. The petals remain only 1-2 days. Jean Louis Berlandier, (1805-1851), for whom the plant was named, was a French botanist who worked in Texas and Mexico.
 Closely related to stiffstem flax . Was formerly named Linum rigidum Pursh var. berlandieri (Hook.)

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