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 invented by John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse of Darlington, England, in 1787. New methods of processing flax have led to renewed interest in the use of flax as an industrial fiber. In a 100-gram serving, flaxseed contains high levels (> 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins, and dietary minerals. Ten grams of flaxseed contains one gram of water-soluble fiber (which lowers blood cholesterol) and three grams of insoluble fiber (which helps prevent constipation). Flax contains hundreds of times more lignans than other plant foods. Flaxseeds are especially rich in thiamine, magnesium, potassium, and