Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

BERLANDIER'S FLAX

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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.)

Berlandier's flax