Linum bienne Linum bienne Linum bienne, the pale flax, is a flowering plant in the genus "Linum", native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe, north to England and Ireland. Pale flax grows as a biennial or perennial plant in dry, sunny calcareous or neutral grasslands from sea level up to 1000 m. It has long, narrow stems to 60 cm tall and slender leaves 1.5-2.5 cm long. The flowers have five petals about 1 cm long and nearly round; they are pale blue but streaked with darker colour. It flowers in late spring and, at least in more temperate regions, through
Flax in New Zealand Flax in New Zealand New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants "Phormium tenax" and "Phormium colensoi", known by the Māori names "harakeke" and "wharariki" respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinct from the Northern Hemisphere plant known as flax ("Linum usitatissimum") "P. tenax" occurs naturally in New Zealand and Norfolk Island, while "P. colensoi" is endemic to New Zealand. They have played an important part in the cultural and economic history of New Zealand for both the Māori people and the later European settlers. Both species and their cultivars have now been widely