Linum bienne

Narrow leaved flax

Family: Linaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Narrow leaved flax is a naturalized perennial herb found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range foothills, northern Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, and central western California in grasslands, woodlands, and disturbed places, particularly near coastal areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces light blue flowers 6 to 10 millimeters long with delicate translucent-margined sepals. Growing with glabrous stems 15 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms a weak, open habit. Its leaves are narrow and linear, measuring 5 to 25 millimeters long with no stipule glands. The fruit develops into a capsule 4 to 6 millimeters wide that splits into 10 somewhat adherent segments.

Habitat: Garden escape; grassland, woodland, disturbed places, especially coastal

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NW, CaRF, n SNF, GV, CW

California counties: Butte, Alameda, Yuba, San Luis Obispo, Napa, Mendocino, San Mateo, Humboldt, Placer, El Dorado, Shasta, Amador, Nevada, Contra Costa, Marin, Calaveras, Tehama, Solano, Del Norte, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Alpine, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.