Linum grandiflorum

Flowering flax

Family: Linaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Flowering flax is a naturalized annual found in coastal and southern California regions including Northern Coast, Coast Range, Central Western, Southern Coast, Western Transverse Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges in grasslands and disturbed areas at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces bright red to maroon flowers 15 to 30 millimeters long with conspicuously ciliate sepals. Growing 10 to 60 centimeters tall with glabrous stems, it has distinctive lanceolate leaves 10 to 20 millimeters long that appear slightly glaucous. Its leaves are characterized by their slender shape and bluish-green coloration, typically growing without stipule glands. The fruit consists of dehiscent segments with brown seeds approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long.

Habitat: Grassland, disturbed places

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, CW (exc SCoRI), SCo, WTR, SnBr, PR

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