''Linaria dalmatica'' is a herbaceous, short-lived

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 ...

native to western

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and southeastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

that has become a weed in other areas. The family this plant now belongs to is the

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 ...

Family. Previously, it belonged to the

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

(

Figwort The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of ''Scrophularia'' all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers for ...

) family. Its common names include Balkan toadflax, broadleaf toadflax, and Dalmatian toadflax. ''Linaria dalmatica'' has unique yellow flowers with an orange center that draw individuals to purchase them to display in their gardens. The distribution of ''L. dalmatica'' to North America can be attributed to use as a fabric dye, folk remedies and as an ornamental plant. However, it is now classified as a weed in both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

U.S.A. 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 territori ...

Invasive species

''Linaria dalmatica'' is listed as a noxious weed in fourteen

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

and three provinces in Canada. However, it is present in thirty-one U.S. states and ten provinces and two territories in Canada. It is a grassland invader native to the Mediterranean region, and it was introduced to North America in the late 1800s. It has fast-growing strong, horizontal roots, and can withstand cold, and is a problem for

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

s and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s in the interior of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Etymology

The genus name ''

Linaria ''Linaria'' is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plan ...

'', appears to stem from the Latin word linum, meaning flax, as some

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

have leaves that appear flax-like. The species name ''dalmatica'' means Dalmatia which is located on the Balkan Peninsula.

Habitat

''L. dalmatica'' have adapted to a wide range of conditions and can commonly be found in growing on roadsides,

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

, gravel pits, fields, pastures and overgrazed or deteriorated rangelands to name a few. They tend to thrive in open areas that are not well-kept and disturbed soils.

Description

Seeds

Seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

production of ''L. dalmatica'' is dependent on many factors such as environmental conditions and competition sites. In sites with favourable conditions (moisture availability) and low competition of other plants, up to 500,000 seeds can be produced per

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

. Seeds are small and appears black to purplish-brown in colour.

Seed dispersal In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors ...

can be through a number of ways including wind,

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

and seed ingestion by

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s. Seeds tend to germinate in the spring, however they can also

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

in the fall. The weight and development of seeds are influenced by the environment in which they grow, where growth is significantly impacted by moisture availability. With low moisture availability or drought conditions, growth may be inhibited as ''Linaria dalmatica'' are weak competitors in these conditions. Development of seeds are typically slow to begin with but increase with time. Roots ''L. dalmatica'' has an extensive root system. The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

s of ''L. dalmatica'' make it a strong competitor as they can produce long and deep

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

s that are able to obtain take control of resources required for growth such as moisture and nutrients. In addition,

lateral root Lateral roots, emerging from the pericycle (meristematic tissue), extend horizontally from the primary root (radicle) and over time makeup the iconic branching pattern of root systems. They contribute to anchoring the plant securely into the soil ...

s also arise from the buds present on the roots that contribute to the plants ability to obtain resources. These lateral roots can grow up to 10 feet away from the parent plant. The roots are a great storage place for energy and they possess the greatest amount of energy storage in the fall, storing sugars (i.e. fructose and

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...

). Contrastingly, the least amount of energy stored in the roots occur in June just as the flowers are set to bloom. ''L. dalmatica'' also produce creeping roots which appear white in colour. These roots allow for a rapid rate of reproduction of these plants. Leaves Leaves are broad and heart-shaped and are arranged in an alternating pattern. The leaves are attached to the stem ascending outward and are smooth, waxy and

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

. In addition, they do not have petioles. Flowers Flowers are raceme and are composed of five

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and five petals (

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s), four pairs of stamens of unequal length and

pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

are bicarpellate. Flowering of ''L. dalmatica'' takes place from late May to September. The flowers are

bilaterally symmetrical Symmetry in biology refers to the symmetry observed in organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. External symmetry can be easily seen by just looking at an organism. For example, take the face of a human being which has a pla ...

and have spurs pointing downwards.

Control & Management

As ''L. dalmatica'' are regarded as a noxious weed, determining solutions to manage and control the growth is essential. Due the high adaptability of ''L. dalmatica'', they are able to outcompete plants and thus remain present and utilize all the resources required for growth. It is critical to remove these plants at their most vulnerable stage which is when it is at its seed stage. Hence methods to remove ''L. dalmatica'' are essential to prevent seed formation preceding flowering. Chemical Control The use of herbicides are effective to remove weeds, however, when used on ''L. dalmatica'' results of this chemical control vary. Herbicide control of ''L. dalmatica'' seems to be short-term as the leaves waxy surface help prevent herbicide uptake and its potency. Furthermore, its extensive

root system In mathematics, a root system is a configuration of vectors in a Euclidean space satisfying certain geometrical properties. The concept is fundamental in the theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, especially the classification and representatio ...

aids in reproduction when herbicides manage to remove the flowering plant. It is recommended herbicide use is the most effective pre-bloom or in the death stages of ''L. dalmatica.'' Herbicide use as these stages can promote long-term control and have a greater impact on the removal of these plants as energy storage in the roots are at its least. Mechanical Control

Manual labour Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...

of removing ''L. dalmatica'' by digging up the roots by hand and with a shovel. It is important to note, this is effective but require many years to suppress and remove all ''L. dalmatica'' plants. Biological Control The release of insects feeding on the leaves and stems of ''L. dalmatica'' is an additional way to control the rapid reproduction of this plant and localize it to a certain area. The most prominent insect that aids in the suppression of ''L. dalmatica'' growth is the toadflax stem-mining weevil. The toadflax stem weevil has been vital in the disruption of nutrient and water transport as

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e laid by the toadflax stem weevil feed on the stem while the developed adults feed on the leaves. The disruption of the resources used for growth inhibits the bloom of some flowers and therefore reduces the production of seeds. Additionally, shoot growth is inhibited as they wither before they reach growth due to insufficient nutrients and water. Additional insects that feed on the ''L. dalmatica'' and used as a biological control are the '' Brachypterolus pulicarius, Gymnaetron antirrhini and Rhinusa neta'' and ''Mecinus janthinus''. Cultural Control The use of cultural control alone is not effective but in combination with other controls such as chemical promote greater success in controlling ''L. dalmatica''. The methods of burning and tilling may be effective alongside the spraying of herbicides. The addition of other competitive plants to compete with ''L. dalmatica'' can also promote the removal of this noxious weed. It is important to note that control through cultivation must be persistent and engaged in for at least two years to improve effectiveness of removal.

Toxicity

Regarding the toxicity level of ''L. dalmatica,'' there is a lack of information to determine if it is toxic or not to both animals and humans. For animals, exposure and consumption of this plant is observed to be relatively low as it is not there preferred forage although grazing does occur. However, it is proposed that due to quinolizidine alkaloids present within the plant, it will cause acute poisoning and other health effects in animals as it has been displayed in sheep and cattle. Further experiment and testing is required to determine the toxicity significance in both animals and humans.

References

External links

Species Profile- Dalmat
''L. L. damatica''.L''dalmaticaL. dalmatica''of ''L. dalmatica'' ''L. dalmatica'
ax (''Linaria dalmatica'')
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 ...

. {{Authority control

dalmatica The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other se ...

Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Philip Miller