This lovely wildflower tangle, found in a Brooklin field yesterday, appears to be Lewis Flax (Linum lewisii), also known as Wild Blue Flax and Prairie Flax. It’s native to most of western North America, but unusual here in Maine. The plant was “discovered” on the western prairies by North American explorer Merriweather Lewis and named after him.
Although this and many other non-Maine-native “wildflowers” are unusual here, they’re becoming less and less unusual thanks to the availability of American wildflower seed mixes that can be delivered to our doors for immediate sowing in our “foreign” fields. A similar cultivated Eurasian flax plant, simply called Blue Flax (Linum perenne), also apparently is available here for gardeners. (Brooklin, Maine)