Linum perenne ssp. anglicum 

'Perennial Flax'

[Ex. Co. Durham, England]

Linaceae: a slender herbaceous perennial to 60 cm. found on dry well-drained calcareous grassland. The flowers are pale blue and 2–2.5cm across, blooming from June-July. The leaves are spirally arranged, narrow and lanceolate, from 1–2.5cm long. A rare native of East England. Europe, primarily in the Alps.

USES:

The seed can be eaten cooked, they have a pleasant nutty taste and very nutritious. The seed has a high oil content and can be eaten on its own or used as a flavouring. The seeds should not be eaten raw, as they are poisonous, but this is destroyed in the cooking process.

The plant has antirheumatic, carminative and stomachic properties.

A drying oil is obtained from the seed. Used mainly for lighting, though it could also be used in all the ways that linseed oil.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Sow seeds in spring in greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Prefers a light dry well-drained moderately fertile alkaline soil in a sunny sheltered position. Plants are relatively short-lived, but will they self-sows around the garden.

HARVESTED: 

 

APPROX. 50 SEEDS