''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 ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...

, 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 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, et ...

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 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 Balkan ...

(''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'', gorgone checkerspot (''Charidryas gorgone carlota''), toadflax pug (''Eupithecia linariata''), satyr pug (''Eupithecia satyrata''), '' Falseuncaria ruficiliana'',

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 __NOTOC__ The Hoxnian Stage was a middle Pleistocene stage (Pleistocene from million to 11,700 years BP) of the geological history of the British Isles. It was an interglacial which preceded the Wolstonian Stage and followed the Anglian Stage. I ...

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 The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

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 Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

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 Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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 or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many gardene ...

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

Antirrhinum ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...

''), 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 ''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...

, 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 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 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 Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

, 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. Access ...

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 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 ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

''), 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 ''

''), 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 Mimulus is a plant genus in the family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. The genus now contains only seven species, two native to eastern North America and the other five native to Asia, Australia, Africa, ...

''), 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. Located ...

. 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