''Nuttallanthus'' is a genus of four
species of
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
aceous
annuals and
perennials that was traditionally placed in the
foxglove family
Scrophulariaceae. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family
Plantaginaceae. Three species of ''Nuttallanthus'' are native to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and one to South America. ''Nuttallanthus'' was until the 1980s
included in a wider circumscription of the genus ''
Linaria'', a genus now considered restricted to the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
.
The members of this genus are known in English as
toadflax Toadflax is the common name of several related genera of plants in the family Plantaginaceae, including:
* ''Anarrhinum''
* ''Antirrhinum'', also called Snapdragon
* ''Chaenorhinum'', native to Turkey and the Mediterranean
* ''Cymbalaria''
* ''Lina ...
, a name shared with several other related genera. The scientific name honors
Thomas Nuttall.
;Species
*''
Nuttallanthus canadensis
''Nuttallanthus canadensis'', the blue toadflax, Canada toadflax, or old-field toadflax, is a species of '' Nuttallanthus'' in the family Plantaginaceae, native to eastern North America from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to Texas and Flo ...
'' (Canada toadflax or oldfield toadflax)
*''
Nuttallanthus floridanus'' (Apalachicola toadflax)
*''
Nuttallanthus texanus
''Nuttallanthus texanus'', the Texas toadflax, is an annual to biennial plant in the family Plantaginaceae found across much of the western United States.Sonoran Desert Wildflowers, Richard Spellenberg, 2nd ed., 2012, It can often be seen in pat ...
'' (Texas toadflax)
The North American species do not appear to form
interspecific hybrids at all. The most common mode of reproduction is self-fertilization, with occasional fertilization by another plant of the same species.
Closely related genera include the ''
Linaria'' (Eurasian toadflaxes), ''
Antirrhinum'' (snapdragons) and ''
Cymbalaria'' (ivy-leaved toadflaxes).
References
External links
USDA Plant Profile: ''Nuttallanthus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7070570
Plantaginaceae genera
Plantaginaceae