''Linaria vulgaris'', the common toadflax,Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. yellow toadflax or butter-and-eggs, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Europe, Siberia and Central Asia. It has also been introduced and is now common in North America.

Description

It is a

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

with short spreading roots, erect to decumbent stems high, with fine, threadlike, glaucous blue-green

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

long and broad. The flowers are similar to those of the snapdragon, long, pale yellow except for the lower tip which is orange, borne in dense terminal

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s from mid summer to mid autumn. The flowers are mostly visited by

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a globose capsule long and broad, containing numerous small seeds.

Ecology

Bombus hortorum - Linaria vulgaris - Valingu

The plant is widespread on

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, e ...

spots, along roads, in dunes, and on disturbed and cultivated land. Because the flower is largely closed by its underlip,

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

requires strong insects such as bees and

s (''Bombus'' species). ''Linaria vulgaris'' is a food plant for a large number of insects such as the sweet gale moth (''Acronicta euphorbiae''),

mouse moth The mouse moth (''Amphipyra tragopoginis'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a widespread species with a Holarctic distribution. Distribution Europe (except the extreme north, and not occurring in the south of Spain, Sicily, or the Balka ...

(''Amphipyra tragopoginis''), silver Y (''Autographa gamma''), '' Calophasia lunula'', gorgone checkerspot (''Charidryas gorgone carlota''), toadflax pug (''Eupithecia linariata''), satyr pug (''Eupithecia satyrata''), '' Falseuncaria ruficiliana'', bog fritillary (''Boloria eunomia''), '' Pyrrhia umbra'', brown rustic (''Rusina ferruginea''), and '' Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla''. It may be mildly toxic to livestock.

Fossil record

Seeds of the common toadflax, were identified from the Hoxnian interglacial

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

at Clacton. Records have also come from the Weichselian glaciation strata in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. This evidence makes the native status of the plant in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

quite evident despite the very strong association that it has today with waste places and man-made habitats.

Cultivation and uses

While most commonly found as a wildflower, toadflax is sometimes cultivated for

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers and flower buds (often with some Plant stem, stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is removed from the plant for decorative use. Cut greens are leaves with or without stems added to the cut flow ...

, which are long-lasting in the vase. Like snapdragons (''

Antirrhinum ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants in the Plantaginaceae family, commonly known as dragon flowers or snapdragons because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They ...

''), they are often grown in children's gardens for the "snapping" flowers which can be made to "talk" by squeezing them at the base of the corolla. The plant requires ample drainage, but is otherwise adaptable to a variety of conditions. It has escaped from cultivation in North America where it is common on roadsides and in poor soils, where it has now naturalized in many U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Despite its reputation as a weed, this plant has been used in folk medicine for a variety of ailments. A tea made from the leaves was taken as a

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

and strong

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

as well as for

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

, dropsy, and

enteritis Enteritis is inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by food or drink contaminated with pathogenic microbes,Dugdale, David C., IIII, and George F Longretc"Enteritis" MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, 18 October 2008. Acces ...

with drowsiness. For skin diseases and piles, either a leaf tea or an ointment made from the flowers was used. In addition, a tea made in milk instead of water has been used as an

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

. Some evidence may support its diuretic and fever-reducing properties.

Other names

''Linaria acutiloba'' is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

. Because this plant grows as a weed, it has acquired a large number of local colloquial names, including brideweed, bridewort, butter and eggs (but see '' Lotus corniculatus''), butter haycocks, bread and butter, bunny haycocks, bunny mouths, calf's snout, Continental weed, dead men's bones, devil's flax, devil's flower, doggies, dragon bushes, eggs and bacon (but see '' Lotus corniculatus''), eggs and butter, false flax, flaxweed, fluellen (but see '' Kickxia''), gallweed, gallwort, impudent lawyer, Jacob's ladder (but see ''

Polemonium ''Polemonium'', commonly called Jacob's ladders or Jacob's-ladders (the name derived from the Biblical story), is a genus of between 25 and 40 species of flowering plants in the family Polemoniaceae, native to cool temperate to arctic regions ...

''), lion's mouth, monkey flower (but see ''

Mimulus Mimulus , also known as monkeyflowers, is a plant genus in the family (biology), family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. The genus now contains only seven species, two native to eastern North America and th ...

''), North American ramsted, rabbit flower, rancid, ransted, snapdragon (but see ''

''), wild flax, wild snapdragon, wild tobacco (but see ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

''), yellow rod, yellow toadflax.

References

External links

Species Profile - Yellow Toadflax (''Linaria vulgaris'')
National Invasive Species Information Center,

United States National Agricultural Library The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a national library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. Locate ...

. Lists general information and resources for yellow toadflax. {{Authority control vulgaris Medicinal plants Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Ruderal species Taxa named by Philip Miller