Flax

Much as they're trumpeted by so-called eco-designers, plant-based alternatives to cotton are a minuscule piece of the fashion puzzle. Dwarfed by cotton and synthetics such as polyester, spandex and rayon, textiles made from flax, wood pulp, hemp and bamboo make up less than 2% of the market. But that percentage is growing due to consumer and corporate demand, as well as technological advancements that make natural fibers easier to transform into wearable fabrics. One of the more promising developments in sustainable textiles is flax , a stalky and fibrous plant that can be grown with far less water and fewer pesticides than cotton and produced at a lower price.

COTTON Prized for: Soft feel and easy maintenance; wide availability Percentage of clothes sold in the U.S. that incorporate cotton: Almost 75% Primary sources: China, India, U.S. FLAX Prized for: Color and performance traits similar to cotton; plants require no irrigation and fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides than cotton Percentage of clothes sold in the U.S. that incorporate flax: 1.1% Primary sources:...

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS first planted Phormium en masse about a century ago, and with good reason: Those spiky leaves -- long and linear, a muted green that seemed custom-made for this landscape -- were bold yet elegant, an architectural statement born of soil and a modicum of water.

Much as they're trumpeted by so-called eco-designers, plant-based alternatives to cotton are a minuscule piece of the fashion puzzle. Dwarfed by cotton and synthetics such as polyester, spandex and rayon, textiles made from flax, wood pulp, hemp and bamboo make up less than 2% of the market. But that percentage is growing due to consumer and corporate demand, as well as technological advancements that make natural fibers easier to transform into wearable fabrics. One of the more promising developments in sustainable textiles is flax , a stalky and fibrous plant that can be grown with far less water and fewer pesticides than cotton and produced at a lower price.

Being that eccentric type who grinds her own golden flaxseed as part of a breakfast cereal ritual, I reacted excitedly to the news that flax has been supplanted by the new seed in town: chia. "Chia? As in the chia pet that sprouts hair?" asked my daughter. Yes, though I shudder to think that the product is related to the plant that grew weedy hair on those troll-like dolls of yesteryear. Chia originated as a staple of the Aztecs and Mayas, and it recently has been embraced by Westerners thanks to its supposed ability to lower total cholesterol, provide heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and boost energy.

More than 30,000 years ago, someone living in a cave in the Caucasus Mountains twisted wild flax together and dyed it, producing the earliest known fibers made by humans, scientists reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science. The fibers were discovered in an analysis of clay deposits in Dzudzuana Cave in what is now the country Georgia. They were made from the wild form of flax. The earliest previous evidence of human-worked fibers was from a Czech Republic site dating 28,000 years ago.

Thank you for the wonderful article on gardens and their influence on Southern California ("Where the World Is Abloom," April 24). Our lush and varied landscapes, both public and private, are a true joy of living here. There are two areas, though, where I believe our gardening heritage is being challenged: the ever-encroaching "topiary" style as a result of trimming shrubs by power tools and the overuse of palms in public landscapes. How often has one seen a group of New Zealand flax after they've been given a flattop by a hedge trimmer?

For more than 20 years, Kristine Kidd tasted what came her way as the food editor at Bon Appetit magazine. But she never felt great. "I had digestive issues my whole life," she says, but 2 1/2 years ago, the aching joints, bloating, fatigue and digestive problems became so severe she couldn't ignore the symptoms of celiac disease. She had already left her job and started doing some research, she says in the roomy, sunny kitchen of her hilltop home in Topanga Canyon. "I was so miserable.

What's a healthful food and what's a healing food? Is there a difference? At least since the mid-19th century, when the Battle Creek Sanitarium opened its doors and people flocked there to follow John Harvey Kellogg's regime of whole grains, nuts and frequent enemas, many Americans have sought food as medicine. I have a shelf of books with titles such as "Food - Your Miracle Medicine" and "The Food Pharmacy," and my smartphone is filled with snapshots of the "super foods" on display at a trade show: acai and goldenberry, chia, coconut and flax, goji berries and hemp, maca root and other berries, nuts, seaweeds and roots I've never heard of (yacon, lucuma, camu, maqui)

There may be a flax in your future. Flaxseed is edible--people looked on flax as a food plant long before they made linen out of its fibers. Currently most flaxseed in this country is pressed for linseed oil, but plant geneticists in North Dakota have come up with a strain of high-yielding, bread-quality flax resistant to North American plant diseases. One of the attractions of flaxseed is that it's richer than soybeans in the omega-3 fatty acids considered beneficial to the circulatory system.

After more than a year of searching for a buyer, California Pizza Kitchen said Wednesday that it would be acquired by the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $470 million. If the deal is approved by CPK's shareholders, San Francisco-based Golden Gate will begin to buy out the restaurant chain's shares next month. Golden Gate has also purchased stakes in On the Border Mexican Grill and Romano's Macaroni Grill. It owns a number of retail chains, including Eddie Bauer, Express and J.Jill.

Being that eccentric type who grinds her own golden flaxseed as part of a breakfast cereal ritual, I reacted excitedly to the news that flax has been supplanted by the new seed in town: chia. "Chia? As in the chia pet that sprouts hair?" asked my daughter. Yes, though I shudder to think that the product is related to the plant that grew weedy hair on those troll-like dolls of yesteryear. Chia originated as a staple of the Aztecs and Mayas, and it recently has been embraced by Westerners thanks to its supposed ability to lower total cholesterol, provide heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and boost energy.

When construction workers removed the temporary fence around the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, it was to downtown denizens like the unwrapping of a giant holiday present. After years of demolition and construction, the dusty corner at Spring and 2nd streets suddenly gave way to a burst of greenspace, complete with a lush front lawn of grass that would do any suburban ranch house proud. The space along 2nd Street is technically an adornment, but to residents and workers desperate for open space, they are glad to call it a park.

More than 30,000 years ago, someone living in a cave in the Caucasus Mountains twisted wild flax together and dyed it, producing the earliest known fibers made by humans, scientists reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science. The fibers were discovered in an analysis of clay deposits in Dzudzuana Cave in what is now the country Georgia. They were made from the wild form of flax. The earliest previous evidence of human-worked fibers was from a Czech Republic site dating 28,000 years ago.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIANS first planted Phormium en masse about a century ago, and with good reason: Those spiky leaves -- long and linear, a muted green that seemed custom-made for this landscape -- were bold yet elegant, an architectural statement born of soil and a modicum of water.

On one of several voyages to the South Pacific in 1773, the English mariner Captain James Cook spied an unusual plant in the black sands of a New Zealand beach. The largest carried small red flowers above its seven-foot-tall leaves; a shorter, more weeping variety had yellow blooms. More intriguingly, Cook and his men saw Maori people--Polynesians who had settled in New Zealand--weaving the leaves into fishing nets, ropes, baskets and clothes.

Seitan Wellington, it's what's for dinner this holiday season. At least it is if you're vegan, interested in becoming vegan, trying to balance your meat-heavy diet or just hanging around in the Spork Foods kitchen. Founded four years ago by sisters Heather and Jenny Goldberg, Spork Foods is a vegan food company that teaches cooking classes and revamps pantries with vegan and organic diet options. And just in time for the food-saturated holiday season, the sisters, in conjunction with an independent film collective called Open Road Films, have launched an online series of cooking classes in order to teach their vegan techniques to as many people ?

In the middle of the well-groomed block on South Ridgeley Drive--a self-assured, composed neighborhood in the Miracle Mile district--there is a two-story Monterey-Colonial duplex for sale. The postcard the Realtors mailed out to advertise the property presents an image of half a house. On view are a pair of plantation doors flanked by shutters opening onto a pink-hued second-floor balcony. The first floor is entirely hidden behind an 8-foot hedge.

Thank you for the wonderful article on gardens and their influence on Southern California ("Where the World Is Abloom," April 24). Our lush and varied landscapes, both public and private, are a true joy of living here. There are two areas, though, where I believe our gardening heritage is being challenged: the ever-encroaching "topiary" style as a result of trimming shrubs by power tools and the overuse of palms in public landscapes. How often has one seen a group of New Zealand flax after they've been given a flattop by a hedge trimmer?

Nothing brightens a shady spot like variegated foliage, which in gardener's jargon usually means green leaves striped or blotched with cream or white. In gloomy parts of the garden, the creamy markings look like shafts of sunlight. The variegated blueberry flax lily (there's a mouthful) is a new version of Dianella tasmanica, a lily relative valued for its turquoise berries in fall and winter, rather than its tiny pale blue flowers.