Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-735
Littlepod False Flax
Camelina microcarpa
Littlepod false flax is a small, fast-cycling annual in the mustard family that finishes flowering and sets seed before midsummer heat arrives, escaping the hot part of the year rather than tolerating it. The tiny seed has a mild nutty, slightly mustard-like flavor and presses to a rich oil, though harvesting a meaningful amount takes a lot of plants given how small each seed is. Its early yellow-to-white flowers draw small solitary bees and other pollinators at a point in spring when little else is blooming. One thing worth knowing before planting it near a cultivated relative: certain populations of this wild plant cross with domesticated camelina at a very high rate, so a seed grower nearby should treat it as a crossing partner rather than background weed.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–9
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Moist
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- Not yet recorded
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 8–35 in
- Mature spread
- 8 in
- Plant spacing
- Not yet recorded
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
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Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
Herbaceous · USDA 3–11
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
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Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
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Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
Angelica
Angelica archangelica
Angelica is a very large, short-lived umbellifer grown for its candied stem and aromatic root - the thick young stalks are peeled and boiled…
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Anise
Pimpinella anisum
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Herbaceous · USDA 4–9
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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