Callus was initiated from hypocotyl explants of three elite varieties of Linum usitatissimum L. on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various growth regulators. Somatic embryos differentiated from callus grown on MS + α-naphthaleneacetic acid. The origin from a single cell and subsequent developmental stages was traced. Embryos developed into normal plants upon transfer to MS + 2.69 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid + 2.22 μM 6-benzyladenine in two varieties. The medium was supplemented with several additives (abscisic acid, glycine, lysine, glutamine and casein hydrolysate) to increase the percentage of normal plant development from embryos; none of the additives could promote the growth of the shoot apex.