Linum [SEP] parent taxon
Linum
Linum (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species in the flowering plant family Linaceae. They are native to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. The genus includes the common flax ("L. usitatissimum"), the bast fibre of which is used to produce linen and the seeds to produce linseed oil.
The flowers of most species are blue or yellow, rarely red, white, or pink, and some are heterostylous. There is an average of 6 to 10 seeds per boll.
sector of the genus "Linum" and described "Hesperolinon congestum" as a subspecies of L. californicum. In 1961 Helen K. Sharsmith produced a definitive study of "Hesperolinon", with the result that this taxon clearly merited genus standing; moreover, she also returned Marin Dwarf Flax, "H. congestum" to species status.
Distribution.
Collection and recognition of the species was made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by botanical pioneers W.L. Jepson, Alice Eastwood and Katharine Brandegee. Most of these early sightings were