Encyclopedia of Global Resources part 50 provides a wide variety of perspectives on both traditional and more recent views of Earth's resources. It serves as a bridge connecting the domains of resource exploitation, environmentalism, geology, and biology, and it explains their interrelationships in terms that students and other nonspecialists can understand. The articles in this set are extremely diverse, with articles covering soil, fisheries, forests, aluminum, the Industrial Revolution, the . Department of the Interior, the hydrologic cycle, glass, and placer mineral deposits. . | 438 Flax Global Resources Web Sites Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries http fm-gp . Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries and Habitat Conser vation Fisheries Program http fisheries See also Agriculture industry Biodiversity Coral reefs Coral reefs El Niño and La Niña Exclusive economic zones Fish and Wildlife Service . Food chain Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Law of the sea Oceans Sea Shepherd Conser vation Society. Flax Category Plant and animal resources Where Found Flax also known as linseed common flax or Linum usitatissimum in Latin is native to the region stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Flax was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and was cultivated extensively in ancient Egypt. Primary Uses Common flax is grown for both its versatile fibers and its nutritionally rich seeds. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens. Various parts of the plant have been used to produce a variety of products including dye fabric paper linen ropes fish nets medicines and health foods. Flax seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids which are believed to possess anticancer properties to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases and to lessen the severity of diabetes. Technical Definition Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the Linaceae family. It is an erect annual with slender stems and lanceolate leaves. The plant can grow up to meters tall with leaves 2-4 centimeters long and centimeter wide. The flower color varies ranging from bright red to purple or pale blue each with five petals centimeters in diameter. When mature each plant produces round dry capsules of centimeter in diameter each containing several seeds. The glossy flax seeds either brown or golden yellow in color contain high levels of lignans and omega-3 fatty acids both of which are believed to have health benefits. Flax stems are wrapped around by bast fibers of high .
