Lewis Flax
Linum lewisii
Family: Linaceae
Perennial plant growing about a foot tall and wide that may or may not go dormant in summertime (depending on soil and water). Reseeds readily in the landscape. Can bloom with its blue flowers as early as winter (sometimes even in the fall) but dependably in the spring and last until summer.
Grow in full to part sun, perhaps avoid too much reflective heat. Provide regular water, hardy to -30˚F.
Pollinated by pollen-eating muscoid flies. Larval food plant for the Mexican fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia) and the variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia).
Used for bruises, as an eye medicine, for headaches, heartburn, as a skin wash, for gas pains, goiter, medicinal tea, and the seeds added to food as nutrients and for their flavor.
There are 215 species of Linum native to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. The genus, Linum, comes from the Greek name for flax linon, while the species, lewisii, is named for Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) the famed American explorer.
Found on slopes and in open meadows from 3,500-11,500 ft. throughout North America—Alaska, Canada, and generally in the western states of the United States, south into northern Mexico.
Sometimes they occur in masses, photo by Annette Le Faive, iNaturalist
Typical plant found on roadside, photo by Jared Manninen, iNaturalist