Species

Linum catharticum

Etymology

Linum: flax

Common Name(s)

purging flax

Authority

Linum catharticum L.

Family

Linaceae

Brief Description

Slender, delicate herb, with narrow paired leaves, up to 1 cm long, well separated up the thin stems, with an open branched flowerhead with small (1 cm across) white flowers.

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

LINCAT

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Distribution

Locally common throughout.

Habitat

Wet grassland, dunes, margins of waterbodies, often in areas that are seasonally dry.

Features

Slender biennial herb up to 30-(35) cm high. Stems glabrous, simple to much-branched at base. Stem lvs always opposite, glabrous, oblong to narrowly elliptic-obovate, usually obovate at base of stem, obtuse to acute, 1-veined, entire, (3)-5-12-(15) mm long; lvs subtending infl.-branches single or paired, similar to stem lvs but shorter, narrower and sometimes acuminate. Infl. of few to numerous fls in a diffuse compound dichasium; sepals elliptic, acuminate, glandular, ciliate, 2-3 mm long, slightly < or ± = to capsule; petals white, about 2× as long as sepals, 3.5-5 mm long; styles free to base. Capsule glabrous, globose, dehiscent, 2-3 mm diam.; seeds boat-shaped, shiny light brown, c. 1 mm long.

Similar Taxa

No other Linum in New Zealand is as delicate or has opposite leaves.

Flowering

October to April

Flower Colours

White,Yellow

Fruiting

Summer and autumn

Year Naturalised

1896

Origin

Europe, western Asia and North Africa

Reason for Introduction

Unknown, seed or soil contaminant.

Control Techniques

Not controlled in New Zealand.

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Seed dispersed by water or contaminated machinery.

Attribution

Prepared by Paul Champion and Deborah Hofstra (NIWA). Features description from Webb et al., (1988).

References and further reading

Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. (1988). Flora of New Zealand Volume 4: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch.

Johnson PN, Brooke PA (1989).  Wetland plants in New Zealand.   DSIR Field Guide, DSIR Publishing, Wellington. 319pp.

This page last updated on 21 Aug 2013