Botanical Name: Linum usitatissimum
Common Names: Linseed, common flax, winterlien
Medicinal
Properties: Demulcent, pectoral, maturating, mucilaginous, emollient
This is the common flaxseed with which almost everyone is familiar. The ground seed, when mixed with boiling water, makes a thick mush which is excellent for use in poultices. Any herb may be added for this purpose, such as smartweed, alum bark, granulated hops, mullein, or any of the other herbs recommended for use in poultices. These herbs mixed and used as a poultice with flaxseed make one of the best poultices for all kinds of old sores, boils, carbuncles, inflammations, and tumors. The oil from flaxseed is good for coughs, asthma, and pleurisy.
Adopted from Kloss, 1939