Flax

For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation).

Flax
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Linaceae
Genus: Linum
Species:
L. usitatissimum
Binomial name
Linum usitatissimum
Synonyms[1]
  • Linum crepitans (Boenn.) Dumort.
  • Linum humile Mill.
  • Linum indehiscens (Neilr.) Vavilov & Elladi

Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, Linum usitatissimum, in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the world's supply of flax.

Textiles made from flax are known in English as linen, and are traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. Its oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant.

The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant[2] and appears to have been domesticated just once from the wild species Linum bienne, called pale flax.[3] The plants called "flax" in New Zealand are, by contrast, members of the genus Phormium.

  1. ^ "Linum usitatissimum L." The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species.
  2. ^ "Linum usitatissimum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  3. ^ Allaby, R., Peterson, G., Merriwether, D., et al. (2005). "Evidence of the domestication history of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) from genetic diversity of the sad2 locus". Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 112 (1): 58–65. doi:10.1007/s00122-005-0103-3. PMID 16215731. S2CID 6342499.