Limaceae

Limaceae is an historical name once used for a small group of flowering plants that is now generally treated as Linaceae, the flax family. In modern plant classification, Limaceae is not recognized as a distinct family; the taxa formerly placed in Limaceae are included in Linaceae, within the order Malpighiales.

The Linaceae are predominantly herbaceous plants, annual or perennial, with simple, alternate leaves. Flowers are small, usually with five petals, and are often blue, yellow, or white; the fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous seeds. The most economically important genus is Linum, especially Linum usitatissimum, the cultivated flax, grown for its fiber and for oil-rich seeds used in food and industry.

Other Linum species occur in temperate regions and are valued ornamentally or occur wild in diverse habitats. Members of the family are typically adapted to temperate climates, with a distribution that ranges across Europe, western Asia, parts of North Africa, and into the Americas in some species.

Taxonomy and sources: Modern circumscription centers on Linum as the core genus, with related genera historically associated with Linaceae. Because Limaceae is considered obsolete in contemporary classification, references to Limaceae are largely found only in older floras or synoptic treatments. For current taxonomy, consult Linaceae under Linum and related genera within Malpighiales.