Blue Flax

Blue Flax, Linum Lewisii, is a plant we once had growing beside our front door when we lived in Millcreek in Salt Lake County. These flowers are found in all of the western and great plains states of the nation. Flowerheads of linum lewisii have five overlapping blue, pale purple or whitish petals, and measure 1.25 inches in diameter. The short, narrow, grey-green leaves grow at closely spaced intervals along the stem, in an alternate, spiral arrangement, and mostly point upwards, becoming gradually smaller higher up.

Flowers form open clusters, typically with 4 to 6 heads, though sometimes many more; the number is dependant on the amount of sunshine. Underneath the petals are five green sepals, while at the center are a group of stamens and styles. Stems are tall (up to 3 feet), but weak, often bending under the weight of the relatively large flowers. Flowers tend to remain open just during the morning. Fruits are egg-shaped, banded light green to almost white, and have one or more brown filaments at the tip - the remains of the stigmas.

Photo taken in June of 2010 on a trip to image the pictographs near Head of Sinbad in southcentral Utah.

Taken June 11, 2008; location has been lost.