Literary writers have employed “flax” as a subtle yet evocative color descriptor, drawing on the natural, pale hue of flax fibers to convey softness, fragility, or an almost ethereal brightness. In some passages, a character’s hair is compared to flax to emphasize a luminous, almost silvery-white quality, suggesting both delicacy and purity [1][2]. In another instance, the term appears in the inventive coinage “flax‑blue,” highlighting a unique, gentle tint that blends the familiar lightness of flax with a cool, nuanced blue [3]. Yet another author uses flax as a yardstick for pallor, describing a widow as growing “paler than the flax on her shuttle,” thereby intensifying the sense of wan, ghostly fragility [4]. These varied uses illustrate how “flax” transcends its literal botanical meaning to serve as a subtle simile in the literary portrayal of delicate and nuanced color.