Linum bienne
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202641884
2008-04-01T21:22:13Z
IceCreamAntisocial
346507
refine cat
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Linum bienne''
| image = Linum bienne Luc Viatour.JPG
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malpighiales]]
| familia = [[Linaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Linum]]''
| species = '''''L. bienne'''''
| binomial = ''Linum bienne''
| binomial_authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
}}
'''''Linum bienne''''' ('''Pale Flax''') is a [[flowering plant]] in the genus ''[[Linum]]'', native to the [[Mediterranean region]] and western [[Europe]], north to [[England]] and [[Ireland]].
The Pale Flax grows as a [[biennial plant|biennial]] or [[perennial plant]] in dry, sunny [[chalk|calcareous]] or neutral grasslands from sea level up to 1000 metres. It has long, narrow stems to 60 cm tall and slender [[leaf|leaves]] 1.5-2.5 cm long. The [[flower]]s have five petals about 1 cm long and nearly round; they are pale blue but streaked with darker colour. It flowers in late spring and, at least in more temperate regions, through the summer. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are [[Pollination|pollinated]] by [[bee]]s and [[wasp]]s.
The Pale Flax has been considered as a possible wild forebear of the cultivated [[Flax|Common Flax]], and a fibre can be made from its stem. It is sometimes grown as a [[gardening|garden]] plant.
It has been introduced into [[North America]], where it is [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] on the [[Pacific]] coast from [[Oregon]] to the central coast of [[California]], and also in [[Pennsylvania]]; it is also found in [[Hawaii]].
==References==
*Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Hodder & Stoughton.
*Huxley, A. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' vol. 3: 93. Macmillan.
[[Category:Linum]]
[[Category:Fiber plants]]
{{Malpighiales-stub}}
[[de:Zweijähriger Lein]]
[[es: Linum bienne]]
[[fr:Lin bisannuel]]