Flax

Flax is a plant picked from a flax field, used to create bowstring. It grants 1 Farming experience when picked. Players with level 1 Crafting can use the picked flax on a spinning wheel to create a bowstring, granting 15 Crafting experience. It can alternately be used to make nets for holding seaweed. It is possible to pick multiple flax from one plant. Flax plays a giant role in the economy.

Flax can be found in various places:
 * There is a flax field in Taverley, south of Head Farmer Jones's shack
 * In Taverley flower patches, they are hard to see, but there are at least 2 in every patch.
 * In the Tree Gnome Stronghold (there is a bank in the middle of several flax plants).
 * South of Seers' Village, there are many plants in a reasonably small area, next to the beehives and close to a bank as well as a Spinning wheel.
 * Just south of the bank in Lletya (closest to a bank, but difficult to get to)
 * South of Rellekka, near the Fenris wolves
 * On Lunar Isle
 * A field of 9 flax plants can be found in the Cadarn section of Prifddinas.

It is not easy to sell flax for quick money, so players are advised to turn them into bow strings first to gain more money. It takes (with no armour equipped, and run turned on) approximately 75 seconds (non-stop) in Lumbridge Castle to spin an entire inventory of flax into bowstrings.

Flax used to be a common target for macroing programs, where they collected flax in Seers' Village and then spun them into bow strings in Lumbridge Castle, due to the profit margin for bow strings and that flax could easily be collected in bulk. This has been significantly reduced for quite a while due to Jagex's fight against unbalanced trade and real-world trading. However, since the return of free trade, the amount of bots is sharply on the rise again.

The macroing programs that picked flax became a target for luring that Jagex actually supported. Players would wear clothing such as green dragonhide, and stand near macros. With a little coordination, a player could get the macro program to think that the player was a flax plant. Once the bot was following the player, it could be lured into a group of aggressive monsters.



Strategies

 * Arguably, the best place to pick flax would be in Lletya, because the flax field is very close to the bank. The only downside is that the player has to begin Mourning's Ends Part I first to enter Lletya. But after a graphical update of Lletya before Prifddinas was released the bank rotated and is now with its back faced to the flax. Because of this players now have to leave the bank through the room north of the bank (it's the room where Arianwyn resides in Lletya). Then run around the bank to reach the flax field. It's still close to a bank, but not as close as it used to be.
 * Flax field in Taverley is reasonably close to a bank (one near Challenge Mistress Fara), and there are spinning wheels standing in the open on the way to it.
 * The field south-east of Seers' Village contains a spinning wheel on the way to the bank. This allows players to turn their flax into bowstrings for crafting experience and even more money. However, the wheel is on the first floor of a house with a door, which greatly increases travel time.
 * The flax in Tree Gnome Stronghold is another option. While the flax plants are more spread apart, the bank is fairly close.
 * Flax can also be obtained through Kingdom Management. The quest Throne of Miscellania is needed, however.
 * The best place to spin flax into bowstrings is at Neitiznot. The wheel is one click away from the bank and the door is always open.
 * If the player completes the Seers' Village Tasks, they can receive 30, 60, 120, or 200 free flax daily from Geoffrey upon completion of the corresponding sets of tasks. Wearing the fully upgraded headband allows for faster flax spinning at the Seers' Village spinning wheel, making it faster overall than Neitiznot.
 * The player's avatar picks flax faster than the picking animation.
 * The key to fast flax picking involves timing; Try to find 5 flax plants in a plus-shaped position and stand in the middle of it, then start picking the flax in a circular motion by clicking a plant and then, when you're about to hear the "pop", click the next plant. Your avatar will show the picking motion once while actually picking 2 flax. Eventually a plant will run out, that's when the centre plant right below you comes into play. Use this plant as a substitute until the other plant(s) respawn. This way you can pick 28 flax in about 30 to 35 seconds.
 * Alternatively, watch the experience points (+1) appear as the player's character picks flax. After the first pick, +experience will appear. That is when the player should click again, and it will appear so that two flax are picked by the end of the animation. This minimises the amount of clicking necessary.
 * By taking 14 unstrung bows north from the Taverley bank, picking 14 flax, and continuing north, one may spin the bowstrings and string the bows, freeing up space to pick another 14 flax on the way back to the bank. It is recommended that this be done for only half of one's unstrung bows, as Lumbridge Castle is much faster for spinning.

Trivia
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 * Although flax is a member's item, bowstrings are not.
 * Flax received a graphical update on 13 October 2014.