Description

Linum perenne L., known commonly as blue flax or perennial flax (berglin in Swedish), was first described by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753, p. 277). It is a member of the Linum perenne group, a collection of several species widely distributed across Europe, Asia and North America. Most representatives of this group, including L. perenne L. itself, are concentrated in Central Europe and exhibit heterostyly (Ockendon, 1968). This specialized reproductive system ensures that fertilization occurs only between different floral morphs, effectively preventing self-pollination (Murray, 1986). Recent genomic research by Zervakis, Postel et al. (2025) identified the 3.8 Mb S-locus supergene governing heterostyly. The two alleles at the S-locus differ in length, with the longer and dominant allele being specific to and hemizygous in short-styled individuals. This unique structural arrangement ensures the stable inheritance of distinct “pin” and “thrum” floral architectures across generations, maintaining the balanced polymorphism required for cross-pollination in wild populations.

How to cite

If you use the data presented in the genome portal from this species in your research, please cite the original publication:

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Zervakis, P.-I., Postel, Z., Losvik, A., Fracassetti, M., Solér, L., Proux-Wéra, E., Bunikis, I., Churcher, A., & Slotte, T. (2025). Genomic studies in Linum shed light on the evolution of the distyly supergene and the molecular basis of convergent floral evolution. New Phytologist, 247(6), 2964–2981. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70392

If you have used the pages for this species in the Genome Portal, please refer to it in-text as: “The Linum perenne entry in the Swedish Reference Genome Portal (Retrieved ).” and use the following for the bibliography:

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Swedish Reference Genome Portal (Retrieved ), SciLifeLab Data Centre, version 1.8.0 from https://genomes.scilifelab.se, RRID:SCR_026008

References

• Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum: Exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Laurentii Salvii. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/669
• Murray, B. G. (1986). Floral Biology and Self-Incompatibility in Linum. Botanical Gazette, 147(3), 327–333. https://doi.org/10.1086/337599
• Ockendon, D. J. (1968). Biosystematic Studies in the Linum perenne Group. New Phytologist, 67(4), 787–813. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1968.tb06396.x
• Zervakis, P.-I., Postel, Z., Losvik, A., Fracassetti, M., Solér, L., Proux-Wéra, E., Bunikis, I., Churcher, A., & Slotte, T. (2025). Genomic studies in Linum shed light on the evolution of the distyly supergene and the molecular basis of convergent floral evolution. New Phytologist, 247(6), 2964–2981. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70392

Changelog

• 16/03/2026 - Species first published on the Portal