Wildflowers Found in Oregon

Blue Flax (Lewis Flax, Western Blue Flax)

Linum lewisii - Locally common, late spring-early summer, perennial. Upright. stems in tight clump, slender, flexible, hairless. Leaves alternate on stem, linear, less than 1 in., hairless. Flowers with five thin blue or occasionally white petals, yellow at base, usually fall within a day of opening. Grows on ridges, open slopes, mountain meadows, shrub-steppe, grasslands, at 1300 to 8000 feet. Plants in this family are cultivated for their fibrous stems, which are used to make cords. Also a source of linen.