E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Linum lewisii Pursh
Lewis Blue Flax (Lewis flax; western blue flax)
Linaceae (Flax family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jim Riley  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #27887)

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Distribution of Linum lewisii
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Linum lewisii ssp. lewisii

Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a woody stem-base and a taproot; stems erect, usually several, simple, glabrous, 10-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Stem leaves alternate, linear, 1-3 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, 3-nerved only at the bases.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of saucer-shaped flowers in a loose, terminal cluster on stalks 10-13 mm long; petals blue, 10-23 mm long, soon deciduous; sepals rounded at the tips, 4-7 mm long, the margins membranous, entire; styles heterostylic (of varying lengths).
Fruits:
Capsules, more or less round, 10-celled, 5-8 mm long; seeds 3.5-4.5 mm long, beakless.
Notes:
The closely related European herb, L. perenne presently occurs in a population at Knox Mtn., Kelowna. It differs mainly in having styles of uniform size.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Blue
Blooming Period:
Indeterminate
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry meadows and forest openings from the lowland and steppe to subalpine zones; frequent in SC and NE BC, less frequent in SW and SE BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and S to NM, AZ, CA and MX.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Linum lewisii

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 410 887 2133
Slope Gradient (%) 0 28 76
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		4 225 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		0 2 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 55
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(12), BWBS(1), ESSF(1), IDF(31), PP(7)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links


Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2020-09-21 2:39:02 AM ]
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