ABSTRACT
Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) varieties are two types, for example, fiber and seed. Linseed is also known as ‘alsi’. These differ considerably in character of the plant growth. The fiber plants having tall and slender stem, produces a high amount of good quality fiber and bears seeds of poor quality oil content. Seed flax varieties develop shorter stems with
more tendency to branch and usually bears larger seeds and higher oil content. Flax is grown for its use as a nutritional supplement, edible oil and as an ingredient in many wood-finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. Flax fibers are used to make linen. The Latin species name usitatissimum means most useful, pointing to the several traditional uses of the plant and their importance for human life. Flax fibers are taken from the stem of the plant and are two to three times as strong as those of cotton. As well, flax fibers are naturally smooth and straight. Europe and North America depended on flax for vegetable-based cloth until the nineteenth century, when cotton overtook flax as the most common plant used for making linen paper. Flax is grown on the Canadian Prairies for linseed oil, which is used as a drying oil in paints and varnish and in products such as linoleum and printing inks. Linseed grown in the warmer regions of the temperate zones as a winter crop and in the cooler regions as a summer crop. Seed flax varieties are generally more grown in the drier areas, whereas fiber flax is grown in the humid regions.
