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Flax ( Linum usitatissimum), also known as common flax or linseed, is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is a food and fiber crop cultivated in cooler regions of the world. The textiles made from flax are known in the Western countries as linen, and traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. The oil is known as linseed oil. In addition to referring to the plant itself, the word "flax" may refer to the unspun fibers of the flax plant. The plant species is known only as a cultivated plant, and appears to 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 leaf are glaucous green, slender lanceolate, 20–40 mm long, and 3 mm broad.
The are pure pale blue, 15–25 mm in diameter, with five petals. The fruit is a round, dry capsule 5–9 mm in diameter, containing several glossy brown shaped like an apple pip, 4–7 mm long.
Flax was cultivated extensively in ancient Egypt, where the temple walls had paintings of flowering flax, and mummies were entombed in linen.Sekhri S. (2011) "Textbook of Fabric Science: Fundamentals to Finishing". PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi, p. 76 Egyptian priests wore only linen, as flax was considered a symbol of purity.Wisseman S. (2013) "Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials". Routledge, p. 124 Phoenicians traded Egyptian linen throughout the Mediterranean and the Ancient Rome used it for their .Buchanan R. (2012) "A Weaver's Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers". Courier Dover Publications, p. 22 As the Roman Empire declined, so did flax production, but Charlemagne revived the crop in the eighth century CE with laws designed to publicize the hygiene of linen textiles and the health of linseed oil.Wisseman S., p.125 Eventually, Flanders became the major center of the linen industry in the European Middle Ages. In North America, flax was introduced by the colonists and it flourished there,Cullis C. p.275 but by the early twentieth century, cheap cotton and rising farm wages had caused production of flax to become concentrated in northern Russia, which came to provide 90% of the world's output. Since then, flax has lost its importance as a commercial crop, due to the easy availability of more durable fibres.(2003) "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Volume 1" Oxford University Press, p.303
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Flax fibers taken from the stem of the plant are two to three times as strong as cotton fibers. Additionally, flax fibers are naturally smooth and straight. Europe and North America both depended on flax for plant-based cloth until the nineteenth century, when cotton overtook flax as the most common plant for making Rag paper. Flax is grown on the Canadian Prairie for linseed oil, which is used as a drying oil in paints and varnishes and in products such as linoleum and Printing ink.
Linseed meal, the byproduct of producing linseed oil from flax seeds, is used to feed livestock. It is a protein-rich Animal feed for ruminants, rabbits and fish.Heuzé V., Tran G., Nozière P., Lessire M., Lebas F., 2017. Linseed meal. Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. Last updated on February 16, 2017, 16:31
Flaxseeds produce a vegetable oil known as flaxseed oil or linseed oil, which is one of the oldest commercial oils. It is an edible oil obtained by expeller pressing and sometimes followed by solvent extraction. Solvent-processed flaxseed oil has been used for many centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.
Although brown flaxseed may be consumed as readily as the yellow varieties, and have been for thousands of years, its better-known uses are in paints, for fiber, and for cattle feed.
Flaxseed sprouting are edible and have a slightly spicy flavor profile. Excessive consumption of flaxseeds with inadequate amounts of water may cause bowel obstruction. In northern India, flaxseed, called tisi or alsi, is traditionally roasted, powdered, and eaten with Boiled Rice, a little water, and a little salt.Chopra (1933) "Indigenous Drugs Of India", Academic Publishers, p.677 In India, linseed oil is known as alsi in Hindi and javas in Marathi. It is mainly used in Savji curries, such as mutton (goat meat) curries.
Whole flaxseeds are chemically stable, but ground flaxseed meal, because of oxidation, may go rancidity when left exposed to air at room temperature in as little as one week. Refrigeration and storage in sealed containers will keep ground flaxseed meal for a longer period before it turns rancid. Under conditions similar to those found in commercial bakeries, trained sensory panelists could not detect differences between bread made with freshly ground flaxseed and bread made with flaxseed that had been been milled four months ago and stored at room temperature. This shows, if packed immediately without exposure to air and light, milled flaxseed is stable against excessive oxidation when stored for nine months at room temperature, and under warehouse conditions, for 20 months at ambient temperatures.
Three glucosides—secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, p-coumaric acid glucoside, and ferulic acid glucoside—can be found in commercial breads containing flaxseed."Phenolic glucosides in bread containing flaxseed." C. Strandås, A. Kamal-Eldin, R. Andersson and P. Åman, Food Chemistry, Volume 110, Issue 4, 15 October 2008, Pages 997–999,
Flax fiber is extracted from the bast beneath the surface of the stem of the flax plant. Flax fiber is soft, lustrous, and flexible; bundles of fiber have the appearance of blonde hair, hence the description "flaxen" hair. It is stronger than cotton fiber, but less elastic. The best grades are used for linen fabrics such as , lace, and Bed sheet. Coarser grades are used for the manufacturing of twine and rope, and historically, for canvas and webbing equipment. Flax fiber is a raw material used in the high-quality paper industry for the use of printed , rolling paper for , and .
The use of flax fibers dates back tens of thousands of years; linen, a refined textile made from flax fibers, was worn widely by priests more than 4,000 years ago.The Sumerians: Their history, culture and character, Samuel Noah Kramer, pg.104, Industrial-scale flax fiber processing existed in antiquity. A bronze-age factory dedicated to flax processing was discovered in Euonymeia.
for spinning flaxen yarn were invented by John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse of Darlington, England, in 1787.A. J. Wardey (1967). 071461114X, Routledge. 071461114X New methods of processing flax have led to renewed interest in the use of flax as an industrial fiber.
As a percentage of total fat, flaxseeds contain 54% omega-3 fatty acids (mostly ALA), 18% omega-9 fatty acids (oleic acid), and 6% omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid); the seeds contain 9% saturated fat, including 5% as palmitic acid. Flaxseed oil contains 53% 18:3 omega-3 fatty acids (mostly ALA) and 13% 18:2 omega-6 fatty acids.
A meta-analysis has shown that consumption of more than 30 grams of flaxseed daily for more than 12 weeks reduced body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference for persons with a BMI greater than 27. Another meta-analysis has shown that consumption of flaxseed for more than 12 weeks produced small reductions in Systole and Diastole. Flaxseed supplementation showed a small reduction in c-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) only in persons with a BMI greater than 30.
Flax grown for seed is allowed to mature until the seed capsules are yellow and just starting to split; it is then harvested in various ways. A combine harvester may either cut only the heads of the plants, or the whole plant. These are then dried to extract the seed. The amount of weeds in the straw affects its marketability, and this, coupled with market prices, determines whether the farmer chooses to harvest the flax straw. If the flax straw is not harvested, typically, it is burned, since the stalks are quite tough and decompose slowly ( i.e., not in a single season). Formed into from the harvesting process, the straw often clogs up tillage and planting equipment. Flax straw that is not of sufficient quality for fiber uses can be baled to build shelters for farm animals, or sold as biofuel, or removed from the field in the spring.
Two ways are used to harvest flax fiber, one involving mechanized equipment (combines), and a second method, more manual and targeting maximum fiber length.
The mature plant can also be cut with mowing equipment, similar to hay harvesting, and raked into windrows. When dried sufficiently, a combine then harvests the seeds similar to wheat or oat harvesting .
Flax processing is divided into two parts: the first part is generally done by the farmer, to bring the flax fiber into a fit state for general or common purposes. This can be performed by three machines: one for threshing out the seed, one for breaking and separating the straw (stem) from the fiber, and one for further separating the broken straw and matter from the fiber.
The second part of the process brings the flax into a state for the very finest purposes, such as lace, cambric, damask, and very fine linen. This second part is performed by a refining machine.
In field retting, the flax is laid out in a large field, and dew is allowed to collect on it. This process normally takes a month or more, but is generally considered to provide the highest quality flax fibers, and it produces the least pollution.
Retting can also be done in a plastic trash can or any type of water-tight container of wood, concrete, earthenware, or plastic. Metal containers will not work, as an acid is produced when retting, and it would corrode the metal. If the water temperature is kept at , the retting process under these conditions takes 4 or 5 days. If the water is any colder, it takes longer. Scum collects at the top, and an odor is given off the same as in pond retting. 'Enzymatic' retting of flax has been researched as a technique to engineer fibers with specific properties.
Common flax is the national flower of Belarus.
In early versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale, such as "Sun, Moon, and Talia" by Giambattista Basile, the princess pricks her finger, not on a spindle, but on a sliver of flax, which later is sucked out by her children conceived as she sleeps.
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