What is Flax?
{{Taxobox | name = ''Linum usitatissimum'' | image = Linum_usitatissimum_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-088.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = Common Flax | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Malpighiales]] | familia = [[Linaceae]] | genus = ''[[Linum]]'' | species = '''''L. usitatissimum''''' | binomial = ''Linum usitatissimum'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]]. }} [[Image:Flax seeds.jpg|thumb|250px|Flax seeds]] '''Flax''' (also known as '''common flax''' or '''linseed''') (''Linum usitatissimum'') is a type of [[flowering plant]]. The [[wood fibre|fibres]] of flax are used to make [[linen]]. High-quality [[paper]] used in [[banknote]]s is also made from flax fibres. An [[oil]] (linseed oil) can be made from the dried [[ripe]] flax [[seeds]]. Flax has been used for a long [[time]] in such tasks as making [[Bow (weapon)|bows]] and [[candle]]s. ==Toxicity== Flax seed and its oil are nontoxic and are safe for human consumption.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/Noticeinventory/ucm181935.htm|publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration|title=GRAS Petition by Flax Canada, Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000280|author=Cheeseman MA|date=24 August 2009|access-date=1 June 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617234254/https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/Noticeinventory/ucm181935.htm|archive-date=17 June 2015}}</ref> However, like many common foods, flax contains small amounts of cyanogenic [[glycoside]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Br J Nutr|year=1993|volume=69|issue=2|pages=443–53|title=High alpha-linolenic acid flaxseed (''Linum usitatissimum''): some nutritional properties in humans|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_british-journal-of-nutrition_1993-03_69_2/page/443|authors=Cunnane SC, Ganguli S, Menard C, Liede AC, Hamadeh MJ, Chen ZY, Wolever TM, Jenkins DJ|pmid=8098222|doi=10.1079/bjn19930046|doi-access=f