The flax fibres are obtained from the phloem tissue, between the bark and the woody core of the plant stem. The fibres can be about 30 to 100 cm in length. They are flexible and strong, but lacking in elasticity.
Flax is one of the oldest textile fibres known. Flax was probably first domesticated in the Middle East; it was extensively cultivated, for example, in ancient Egypt. It is sometimes said that it was cultivated in ancient China, but it is more likely that ramie was being grown rather than flax.
The production of flax fibres in Northern Europe dates back to the Neolithic. Flax was introduced into North America in the seventeenth century. Both the yarn and the cloth made of flax are known as linen.
Source: TORTORA, Phyllis G. and Ingrid JOHNSON (2014). The Fairchild Books: Dictionary of Textiles, 8th edition, London: Bloomsbury, pp. 237-238.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 6 June 2016).
GVE