Small-seeded false flax

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Small-seeded false flax silicles

Small-seeded false flax

Small-seeded false flax

Small-seeded false flax leaves

Small-seeded false flax

Morphology

Stem

Erect, unbranched or branched above, rough-hairy, lower stem with long hairs, upper stem less hairy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, sesile, lower leaves clasping, linear to lanceolate or arrow-shaped, 1-3 inches long, rough-hairy; margins nearly entire or slightly toothed, basal rosette usually withered at flowering.

Inflorescence

Raceme, 2-12 inches long, elongating with maturity, many-flowered, terminal.

Flower

Sepals 4, erect, hairy, tips mostly rounded; petals 4, spatulate, about 1/6 inch long, pale yellow; stamens usually 6; filaments linear; athers ovate; 2 short stamens flanked at base by pair of tiny glands.

Fruit

Silicle (pod), pear-shaped, about 1/4 inch long; beak thread-like; stalk about 1/2 inch long; seeds few to several in each cell, oblong, ridged, reddish-brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Fields, waste places, roadsides, and disturbed sites; usually sandy soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Birds that forage on the ground eat the seeds.

Uses

The Apache boiled and ate the seeds and used them to make flour.