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Linum usitatissimum

Flax
Linum usitatissimum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-088.jpg
Flax plant
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Linaceae
Genus: Linum
Species: L. usitatissimum
Binomial name
Linum usitatissimum
L.
Synonyms
  • Linum crepitans (Boenn.) Dumort.
  • Linum humile Mill.
  • Linum indehiscens (Neilr.) Vavilov & Elladi
Flaxseed
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 2,234 kJ (534 kcal)
28.88 g
Sugars 1.55 g
Dietary fiber 27.3 g
42.16 g
Saturated 3.663 g
Monounsaturated 7.527 g
Polyunsaturated 28.730 g
22.8 g
5.9 g
18.29 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1)
(143%)
1.644 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(13%)
0.161 mg
Niacin (B3)
(21%)
3.08 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
(20%)
0.985 mg
Vitamin B6
(36%)
0.473 mg
Folate (B9)
(0%)
0 μg
Vitamin C
(1%)
0.6 mg
Minerals
Calcium
(26%)
255 mg
Iron
(44%)
5.73 mg
Magnesium
(110%)
392 mg
Phosphorus
(92%)
642 mg
Potassium
(17%)
813 mg
Zinc
(46%)
4.34 mg

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Flax (also known as common flax or linseed), Linum usitatissimum, is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is a food and fiber crop cultivated in cooler regions of the world. The textiles made from flax are known in the Western countries as linen, and traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. The oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant itself, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant. The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant, and appears to have been domesticated just once from the wild species Linum bienne, called pale flax.

Several other species in the genus Linum are similar in appearance to L. usitatissimum, cultivated flax, including some that have similar blue flowers, and others with white, yellow, or red flowers. Some of these are perennial plants, unlike L. usitatissimum, which is an annual plant.

Cultivated flax plants grow to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall, with slender stems. The leaves are glaucous green, slender lanceolate, 20–40 mm long, and 3 mm broad.

The flowers are pure pale blue, 15–25 mm in diameter, with five petals. The fruit is a round, dry capsule 5–9 mm in diameter, containing several glossy brown seeds shaped like an apple pip, 4–7 mm long.

The earliest evidence of humans using wild flax as a textile comes from the present day Republic of Georgia, where spun, dyed, and knotted wild flax fibers were found in Dzudzuana Cave and dated to the Upper Paleolithic, 30,000 years ago. Flax was first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region. Evidence exists of a domesticated oilseed flax with increased seed size by 9,000 years ago from Tell Ramad in Syria. Use of the crop steadily spread, reaching as far as Switzerland and Germany by 5,000 years ago. In China and India, domesticated flax was cultivated also by at least 5,000 years ago.


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