Flax
Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (Linum usitatissimum) is a type of flowering plant.
| Linum usitatissimum | |
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| Common Flax | |
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| Species: | L. usitatissimum
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| Linum usitatissimum | |
The fibres of flax are used to make linen. High-quality paper used in banknotes is also made from flax fibres. An oil (linseed oil) can be made from the dried ripe flax seeds. Flax has been used for a long time in such tasks as making bows and candles.
Toxicity
Flax seed and its oil are nontoxic and are safe for human consumption.[1]
However, like many common foods, flax contains small amounts of cyanogenic glycoside.[2] This is nontoxic when eaten in normal amounts. It may be toxic when eaten in large quantities as with staple foods such as cassava.[3] The small percentage of cyanide can be removed by special processing.[4]
Flax Media
- The Women's Land Army in Britain, 1915-1918 Q30890.jpg
Flax being harvested during World War I
- Emile Claus001.jpg
De vlasoogst (1904) ("The flax harvest") painting by Emile Claus, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
- Hatchel of the Bugg Family.jpg
A hackle or heckle, a tool for threshing flax and preparing the fiber
- Brown Flax Seeds.jpg
Brown Flax Seeds.
Ground Golden Flax Seeds
- Linseed rolls crude.JPG
Bread rolls being topped with flax seeds before baking
- Heckling Shop Irvine.JPG
An 18th-century heckling shop once used to prepare flax fibers. North Ayrshire, Scotland.
- Flax field.JPG
A flax field in bloom in North Dakota
- Rhof-flachsbearbeitung.ogv
Threshing, retting, and dressing flax at the Roscheider Hof Open Air Museum (Germany)
References
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
Other websites
Media related to Linum usitatissimum at Wikimedia Commons