Pretty border perennial with pale blue flowers. As with ordinary flax, seeds contain linseed oil. Has been used for rheumatic pains, diarrhea and coughs
Prefers dry, full sun areas in light sandy soil. Flowers last only a single day but occur in such profusion that this does not take away from the plant's astonishing beauty.
Unlike the annual common flax grown for oil and fiber, blue flax is a perennial with a long taproot. Plants stand up to three feet tall; up to a dozen stems may grow from a single root. Dozens of bright blue flowers about an inch long occur in drooping branches at the tip of each stem. Leaves are narrow and very numerous.
Its high fiber strength made it useful to natives of the Pacific Northwest for snowshoes and fishnets. Some tribes also used the seeds for food.
The plant is antirheumatic, and has agents that relieve and remove gas from the digestive system, and contains substances which give strength and tone to the stomach. The oil in the seed has soothing and lubricating properties, and is used in medicines to soothe tonsillitis, sore throats, coughs, colds, constipation, gravel and stones. When mixed with an equal quantity of lime water it is used to treat burns and scalds. A poultice of the fresh crushed leaves has been used to treat eye problems. A tincture of the entire plant is used in the treatment of diarrhea. The fresh herb is boiled and taken internally for the treatment of rheumatic pains, heartburn, colds, coughs and dropsy. A poultice of the plant is applied to bruises to reduce the swelling. The seeds have agents that soften and soothe the skin when applied locally. An eye medicine is made from them. An infusion of the roots is used as an eyewash.
