Flax 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 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,
Flax weevil Flax weevil The flax weevil ("Anagotus fairburni") is a large flightless weevil. It was discovered by E. Fairburn in 1931 on D'Urville Island. The weevil is known to live on New Zealand flax ("Phormium tenax"), feeding on leaves, where it produces a characteristic feeding notch. The weevil is a large, nocturnal, flightless weevil ranging in length from 20 to 25mm. Although considered a coastal species, the flax weevil has been found in the Tararua Range on Phormium cookianum, a mountain flax. It is possible that other remnant populations survive in other mountain ranges. However, due to predation by mammals, it