Linum usitatissimum SEEDS

Linum usitatissimum seeds grow into flax or linseed one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, an annual herb native to the temperate biome of the Mediterranean and Central Asia, domesticated at least 30,000 years ago (with evidence of fibre use from Georgia). Described by Linnaeus (1753). The epithet usitatissimum means ‘most useful’ a superlative entirely justified: flax provides linen fibre (from the stem bast), linseed oil (from the seeds, used in paint, varnish, linoleum), and nutritious linseed for food and medicine (omega-3 fatty acids, lignans, dietary fibre). Produces delicate sky-blue flowers (the archetypal blue of linen fibre) on slender, erect stems to 70100 cm. Family Linaceae.

Full sun; well-drained, moderately fertile soils; cool to warm temperate conditions; annual. One of the world’s oldest cultivated plants.

• ‘Usitatissimum’ = most useful; Linnaeus (1753); one of the oldest cultivated plants (~30,000 years)
• Linen fibre, linseed oil (paint/varnish/linoleum), food/medicine (omega-3, lignans); sky-blue flowers
• Mediterranean to Central Asia temperate biome; annual; among the very earliest human crops
• Genus Linum ~180 species; Family Linaceae
• Full sun; well-drained soils; cool temperate; annual; the most useful flax; Family Linaceae

Linum usitatissimum is flax the most useful plant, as its name declares, one of humanity’s oldest and most versatile crops whose fibres clothe us in linen, whose oil paints our canvases and seals our floorboards, and whose seeds nourish us with omega-3 fatty acids, a plant used by humans for longer than almost any other.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.