Practical
Plants

Linum humile

an annual member of the Linum genus in the family Linaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Linaceae
Genus
Linum
Life cycle
annual
Height
0.6 m
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The seed yields 42 - 45% of an edible oil[3][4].

Product or use
Oil

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A fibre is obtained from the stem[4].

Product or use
Fibre

Environment

Range
N. Africa - Mediterranean.
Habitat
The plant has been cultivated for many centuries for its fibre and oil, it is not known in a genuinely wild state[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow early spring in situ.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a light well-drained moderately fertile humus-rich soil in a sunny sheltered position[1]. Considered by most botanists to be no more than a cultivar of L. usitatissimum, it is cultivated for its fibre and seed.

References

  1. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

  2. Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5

    ↩

  3. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  4. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩1↩2

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