Characteristic of morphological traits and biochemical indicators in Linum pubescens

The article describes the morphological characteristics and biochemical parameters of a very little studied wild species Linum pubescens (downy flax). This representative of the genus Linum naturally grows in the eastern Mediterranean: Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Iraq, Greece, Cyprus, Albania. There are brief references to it in the description of the flora of these regions. In Israel, on natural populations of L. pubescens, studies of dimorphic heterostyly, anatomical features of the flower, mechanisms of pollination and incompatibility were carried out. However, other signs, including economically valuable ones, are not described in him. We were the first to study the species ex-situ in a field bank. It was found that in the arid conditions of the southeastern Steppe of Ukraine L. pubescens has a one-year development cycle, a height of 30 cm, 1.2 flowering stems, a bright pink flower with a diameter of 25 mm, a small slightly elongated box with a diameter of 2.7 mm, weight 1000 seeds is 0.6 g, and the leaf area is 218.9 mm2. Plants bloom in mid-July- September. Taking into account the rather large size, the bright color of the flower and the flowering period, we believe that the L. pubescens species has prospects of use as an ornamental flowering plant. In the resulting artificial population of L. pubescens, dimorphic heterostyly is clearly traced. Long and short pest morphs are clearly identified. L. pubescens seeds contain 24% protein and 35% oil. The fatty acid composition of the oil belongs to the "linum-type", like most other types of flax. With a low content of saturated acids (palmitic 6.7% and stearic 2.8%) and a significant predominance of unsaturated acids, especially linolenic up to 64%. It was revealed that this species has a dense non-cracking capsule. This trait is unusual for other flax varieties. Most annual and perennial species are characterized by moderate to severe cracking. Cultivated flax has a non-cracking boll, but not a hard one that breaks easily. It was found that less organic matter and more ash elements accumulate in the capsules and seeds of L. pubescens than in other species of the genus Linum. Probably, this feature, together with non-cracking, helps to better preserve fruits in difficult natural conditions and preserves seed germination for a long time. According to A.A. Zhuchenko, plant genetic resources are divided into six groups. At this stage, L. pubescen is classified as a wild weed relative. It was proposed to include L. pubescens in breeding work to create ornamental varieties in order to transfer it to the improved germplasm group in the future.