Upright perennial herb to about 0.5 m tall, the lower stem without leaves. Leaves linear to lanceolate, to 2.5 cm long, with 1 vein. Flowers in open-branched clusters, about 2.5 cm wide, blue or white, the sepals shorter than the capsule.
L. marginale Planch., Native Flax (Wild Flax), from all states except the NT is occasionally grown. It is similar but has pale chicory-blue flowers; it is suspected of cyanide poisoning in stock.
L. monogynum Forst. f. from New Zealand has flowers to about 3 cm wide, white or white slightly suffused with blue; the cultivar 'Innocence' is listed.
L. narbonense L. from the Mediterranean is similar but has blue flowers with a white throat and bracts with membranous edges.
The yellow-flowering species, L. flavum L., Golden Flax, from C and S Europe is also available as 'Compactum', a dwarf form with paler yellow flowers.
L. usitatissimum L., the commercial Flax, is an annual not grown as an ornamental and is believed to be an ancient Asian cultigen.Various cultivars are available for their fibre and oil.
Europe.
Source: (2002). Linaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Flowers white. Syn. 'White Flax'.
Flowers blue. Syn. 'Blue Flax'.