toadflax

/tohd"flaks'/, n.

1. a common European plant, Linaria vulgaris, of the figwort family, having narrow leaves and showy yellow-and-orange flowers, naturalized as a weed in the U.S.

2. any plant of the same genus.

[1570-80; TOAD + FLAX]

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▪ plant

also called  spurred snapdragon 

 any member of a genus (Linaria) of nearly 150 herbaceous plants native to the North Temperate Zone, particularly the Mediterranean region. The common name refers to their flaxlike leaves; the flowers are two-lipped and spurred like snapdragons. Among the prominent members are common toadflax (butter-and-eggs), or butter-and-eggs (L. vulgaris), with yellow and orange flower parts. Native to Eurasia, it is now widely naturalized in North America. Blue, or old-field, toadflax (L. canadensis) is a delicate light-blue flowering plant found throughout North America. From North Africa come the cloven-lip toadflax (L. bipartita) and purple-net toadflax (L. reticulata), both of which have purple and orange bicoloured flowers.

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