Flax (Linum usitatissimum) is the fiber used to make linen. While some flax is still grown for the purpose of producing this fabric, much of the flax particularly that grown in the United States is used to produce the flax seed, from which linseed can be extracted. Linen made from flax is one of the oldest fabrics. Flax was cultivated in Mesopotamia and Egypt five thousand years ago, and traces of flax plants have been identified in archaeological sites dating back to the Stone Age. Flax was one of the first crops brought to North America by European settlers. Today, most of the flax produced in the United States is grown in the north-central states.
An annual plant, flax grows to a height of 60 to 100 centimeters and bears five-celled bolls or capsules with ten seeds each at the ends of fertile branches. Because the flax fiber is found in the stems from the ground to the lowest branches, varieties that are long stemmed with little branching are grown for fiber production. Selection of quality, disease free seed is essential in flax production. Flax fields are usually prepared in the fall to allow the soil to settle before planting. Flax is usually sown in early spring, two to three weeks prior to the date of the last killing frost of the region. Considerable attention is given to controlling weeds in a flax field. When the crop is harvested for fiber, the plants are pulled from the soil, the seeds are removed, and the flax straw is "retted" to separate the fiber from the woody part of the stem. When the straw is completely retted, it is dried and then broken apart to remove the 50-centimeter fibers which can be woven into fabrics.
See also: Cotton, Hemp, Minor Crops
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