''Linaria repens'', also known as pale toadflax or creeping toadflax in Europe and as striped toadflax in the US, is an herbaceous plant in the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older cl ...

, native to Europe.

Description

''Linaria repens'' is a short-statured herb (maximum 80 cm), spreading by rhizomes. Upper flower petals are pale with purple veins. Lower petals are pale purple-white, usually with a yellow centre. Its appearance is similar to ''

Linaria purpurea ''Linaria purpurea'' or purple toadflax is a purple-flowered plant native to Italy, part of the plantain family ( Plantaginaceae). It is sometimes planted in gardens and is also an introduced weed in North America and other parts of Europe. Desc ...

'', and the flowers closely resemble '' Cymbalaria muralis'' so care must be taken in identification. It may be poisonous.

Habitat and distribution

This species is found in stony wasteground, along walls, in arable situations and along railways. It grows to a maximum altitude just over 2300 metres. It is found across western Europe and has been introduced to the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, ''L. repens'' is theorised to be an

archaeophyte An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region, but which was an introduced species in "ancient" times, rather than being a modern introduction. Those arriving after are called neophytes. The cut-off date is usua ...

, i.e. introduced before 1492. It is seldom found in the east of England or in Ireland.

Etymology

The genus ''Linaria'' is named for the similarity of the plants' foliage to ''

Linum ''Linum'' (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species''Linum''.
The Jepson Manual.

'' (flax). The species epithet ''repens'' is Latin for 'creeping', referring to the growth habit of the plants. The 'pale' in the English common name refers to the colour of the flowers, in comparison with related species, and 'toadflax' is thought to refer to the plants' historical use to treat

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

, a false link having been drawn at some point between the words 'bubo' and ''

Bufo ''Bufo'' is a genus of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus containing a large number of toads from much of the world, but following taxonomic reviews most of these have been moved t ...

'', which is Latin for

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

References

repens Taxa named by Philip Miller {{Plantaginaceae-stub