You can use flax (or linseed) seeds whole or grind them into a flour and use them in place of eggs as a thickener. Like other mucilaginous herbs, they can soothe the digestive tract and normalize diarrhea.

Try sprouting the seeds for salads, or sprinkle them on cereal to add a nutty flavor. Crushed seeds are good in bread, and are used in tea to treat constipation, as are other fiber laxatives; follow your cup of linseed tea with a big glass of water. A constituent of linoleum, linseed oil is a drying agent in oil paints, varnishes, and inks.

Flax is a wispy annual, 18 inches (46 cm) tall with an erect stem bearing narrow 1-inch (2-cm) leaves. The stem branches near the top, holding a 5-petal, sky-blue flower at the end of each branch. The flowers are only a 1/2 inch (1 cm) across, but they’re numerous.

Beginning in midsummer, flax blooms for more than two months. Seeds develop in round, brown capsules. Soil can’t be too sandy, too heavy, too rich, or too lean, and of course, it must drain well. Add plenty of organic matter to whatever nature gave you, and give flax plenty of sun.

Start flax from seed in either spring or fall, in warm-weather regions. Flax’s shallow roots make cultivation difficult, so weed the bed well. Thin seedlings to 4 inches (10 cm) apart.

Be sure that flax seeds are brown before you use them — unripe seeds are toxic.