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 Plant Sue Carnahan @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) |  Fruit Sue Carnahan @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Annual Similar Species: Linum lewisii, Linum perrenne
General Desc:
Grows upright or curved with slender, leafy stems that are unbranched or few-branched at the base and marked with fine parallel lines; narrow, hairless leaves have 3 distinct ribs; loose clusters of blue (rarely white) flowers grow at the stem tips.
Identification notes: Annuals; petals usually blue, rarely white; stigmas narrow or thicker at the apex; margins of inner sepals minutely hairy; petals <1/2 inch long; capsules <1/3 inch long, tips rounded; seeds 1/4 inch long.
Height:
To 31-1/2 inches
Habitat Description: Disturbed areas: waste grounds, roadsides, fields, near grain elevators, in the coarse stone of railroad beds, abandoned homesteads.
Plant Communities:
Disturbed Areas
Elevation: Below 7874 feet
Color:
Blue, rarely white
Shape:
Regular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - Apr
Description:
Loose, elongated clusters of stalked flowers grow at the tips of branching stems. Flowers 3/4 to 1 inch wide, have 5 broadly oval petals with thin, papery edges. The typically blue petals range from pale blue to bright blue-violet. Sepal margins hairy.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Smooth
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
U
Hairs:
No
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches long, about 1/8 inch wide, linear, with 3 distinct ribs, stalkless, toothless and hairless becoming smaller into the flowering branches. Stems are single or multiple from the base, leafy, hairless and smooth throughout.
Fruit Color: Light brown
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Fruit is dry and less than 1/3 inch long, broadly egg-shaped, almost spherical with a rounded top, margins may be fringed with hair or hairless. At maturity, it splits incompletely into 10 segments with pointed tips.
Seed Notes: Seeds are 1/4 inch long, light brown, smooth, glossy and resembling an apple seed.
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