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Linum catharticum
| Common name: |
Purging Flax |
Family: |
Linaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Poisonous in large doses[21]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain the Caucasus and Iran. |
| Habitat: |
Grassland, dunes and moors[9], most commonly on calcareous grassland[17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Cathartolinum catharticum[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Dwarf Flax [H], Fairy Flax [H,P,L,B], Geelhartje [D], Lino Catartico [E], Mill Mountain [H], Mountain Flax [H], Mushil Keten [E], Purging Flax [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
catharticum = purgative
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Linales. Flax family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Spain
Turkey Us
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.25m. . It is in flower from June to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anthelmintic
Diuretic Emetic Homeopathy Purgative.
Purging flax was often used in the past as a gentle laxative, and also
for the treatment of muscular rheumatism, liver complaints, jaundice and
catarrhal problems[4, 244], though it is seldom used in modern
herbalism[244].
The whole herb is anthelmintic, diuretic, emetic and purgative[4, 9, 21,
46]. It is harvested in the summer as it comes into flower and can be dried
for later use[4]. When used as a purgative it is generally taken with a
carminative such as peppermint[4].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. It is used in the treatment of
bronchitis, piles and amenorrhoea[9].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Prefers a light well-drained moderately fertile humus-rich soil in a
sunny sheltered position[200].
Propagation
Seed - sow early spring in situ.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for linum catharticum (a possible synonym).
References for the family Linaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Linum+catharticum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Linum+catharticum
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