''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.

Growth

It is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

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

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

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 ) or racemoid is an unbranched, 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 produced as the s ...

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 group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

s. The

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

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

Ecology

Bombus hortorum - Linaria vulgaris - Valingu

The plant is widespread on ruderal 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 of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

requires strong insects such as

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s 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 (''Amphipyra tragopoginis''),

silver Y The silver Y (''Autographa gamma'') is a migratory moth of the family Noctuidae which is named for the silvery Y-shaped mark on each of its forewings. Description The silver Y is a medium-sized moth with a wingspan of 30 to 45 mm. The wing ...

(''Autographa gamma''), ''

Calophasia lunula ''Calophasia lunula'' is a Palearctic species of noctuid moth known by the common names toadflax moth and toadflax brocade moth. Technical description and variation ''C. lunula'' Hufn. (= ''linariae'' Esp.) (29 b). Forewing bluish grey, suffus ...

'', gorgone checkerspot (''Charidryas gorgone carlota''), toadflax pug (''Eupithecia linariata''),

satyr pug ''Eupithecia satyrata'', the satyr pug, is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found from Ireland, through northern and central Europe (from Scandinavia to the northern Mediterranean) east ...

(''Eupithecia satyrata''), ''

Falseuncaria ruficiliana ''Falseuncaria ruficiliana'', the red-fringed conch, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in China (Xinjiang) and most of Europe. The habitat consists of limestone, heathland and moorland. The wingspan is 13–15 mm. ...

'',

bog fritillary ''Boloria eunomia'', the bog fritillary or ocellate bog fritillary, is a butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterfli ...

(''Boloria eunomia''), ''

Pyrrhia umbra ''Pyrrhia umbra'', the bordered sallow, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found in all of Europe, east through Anatolia to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal and th ...

'',

brown rustic The brown rustic (''Rusina ferruginea'') is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe. then East across the Palearctic to the Sayan Mountains in Central Asia. The wingspan is 32–40 mm. The ground colour of the fore ...

(''Rusina ferruginea''), and ''

Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla ''Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla'', also known as the twin-spot plume is a moth of the Pterophoroidea family found in North Africa, Asia and Europe. It was first described by the Austrian physician and naturalist, Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1763. ...

''. 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 or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...

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

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, Huntingdonshire,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. This evidence makes the native status of the plant in Britain 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, which are long-lasting in the vase. Like snapdragons ('' Antirrhinum''), 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, like the dandelion, this plant has also been used in folk medicine for a variety of ailments. A tea made from the leaves was taken as a laxative 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 in ...

as well as for

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or 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 abnormal heme meta ...

, dropsy, and enteritis with drowsiness. For skin diseases and

piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''hemo ...

, 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 substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

. It is confirmed to have diuretic and fever-reducing properties.

Other names

''Linaria acutiloba'' is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...

. 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 ''Kickxia'' is a genus of plants in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It includes several species known commonly as cancerworts or fluellins. Species are mostly native to Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, with two, ''K. elatine'' and ''K ...

''), 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 o ...

''), lion's mouth, monkey flower (but see '' Mimulus''), North American ramsted, rabbit flower, rancid, ransted, snapdragon (but see '' Antirrhinum''), 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. Lists general information and resources for yellow toadflax. {{Taxonbar, from=Q157078 vulgaris Medicinal plants Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Ruderal species Taxa named by Philip Miller