Taxonomic update of the flax family in Mexico Author González-Velasco, Juan 0000-0001-8743-3906 Departamento de Botánica, Colegio de Postgraduados. km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo, 56230 Texcoco, Mexico, Mexico. & gonzalez. juan @ colpos. mx; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 8743 - 3906 gonzalez.juan@colpos.mx Author Burgos-Hernández, Mireya 0000-0003-3036-297X Departamento de Botánica, Colegio de Postgraduados. km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo, 56230 Texcoco, Mexico, Mexico. & burgos. mireya @ colpos. mx; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 3036 - 297 X burgos.mireya@colpos.mx Author Galván-Escobedo, Iris G. 0000-0003-4250-4971 Departamento de Botánica, Colegio de Postgraduados. km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo, 56230 Texcoco, Mexico, Mexico. & igalvan @ colpos. mx; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 4250 - 4971 igalvan@colpos.mx Author Castillo-Campos, Gonzalo 0000-0002-3059-8109 Red de Biodiversidad y Sistemática. Instituto de Ecología A. C. Carretera antigua a Coatepec km. 351, El Haya, 91073, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. & gonzalo. castillo @ inecol. mx; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 3059 - 8109 gonzalo.castillo@inecol.mx text Phytotaxa 2022 2022-06-08 549 2 141 184 journal article 67684 10.11646/phytotaxa.549.2.3 62e44cf6-6f9d-4658-a89b-a0ddf687b5b9 1179-3163 6622753 Linum Linnaeus (1753: 277) . Type :— Linum usitatissimum L., N. Amer. Fl. 25: 67. 1907. Description:— Herbs , sometimes shrubs, annual or perennial; glabrous, puberulent, or pubescent partially or throughout; stems erect or extended, sometimes decumbent, unbranched or branched from the base or from the inflorescence, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves entire, dentate or glandular-dentate; alternate, opposite and/or in whorls; sessile or subsessile, with or without stipular glands. Inflorescence terminal, in cymose panicles or racemes, rarely in corymbs or solitary. Flowers with 5 sepals , imbricate, attached at the base, commonly persistent, rarely deciduous; entire, laciniate, ciliate, dentate, or glandular-dentate, glabrous or pilose; petals 5; yellow, white, pink, yellowishorange, orange, or blue, rarely red or crimson-brown; longer than sepals; stamens 5, provided with 5 small staminodia or absent; styles 5, free, connate at the base or fused up to 1/2 or more of the style length, filiform; stigmata capitate or straight; ovary superior, 5-locular or 10-locular for the presence of false septa. Fruit with septicidal capsule; ovoid, ellipsoid, or triangular-ovoid; dehiscent into 5 or 10 segments; glabrous or pilose; seeds 10, lenticular, flattened, elliptical to broadly elliptical; brown to reddish-brown; testa mucilaginous. The genus comprises 24 native and one introduced species distributed throughout the Mexican territory.