Blue Flax

Blue Flax (Linum perenne)

Blue Flax is common and widely distributed in the Intermountain West with a very wide habitat range from blackbrush, salt desert shrub, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper communities up to mountain meadows. It has a beautiful electric blue flower and is prolific in petal production. It prefers full sun and rich to well-drained soils. It is very cold and drought hardy. Flax plants are not long-lived, usually 3-5 years. It reseeds freely if there is not too much competition.

Blue Flax is desirable and commonly used in wildflower mixes and for home beautification. It is short lived but reproduces through abundant seed production. Seeds are readily collected by hand-stripping the capsules in midsummer. Seed pods are round and divided into sections like an orange, with a flattened almond-shaped black seed in each section. The seeds are very sticky when wet, which helps fasten them to surface of the ground and aids in root penetration.

Blue Flax is used extensively in reclamation. It is quick to establish and has a strong root system, ideal characteristics for erosion control. It also has the added benefit of beautifying and adding considerable color to any planting.

Previously know scientifically as Linum perenne lewisii. Also known as Perennial and Lewis Blue Flax.