Linaria
Encyclopedia
- For the bird genus, see PasserinaPasserinaThe genus Passerina is a group of birds in the Cardinal family Cardinalidae. Although not directly related to buntings in the family Emberizidae, they are sometimes known as the North American buntings .The males show vivid colours in the breeding season; the...
(as originally described by Bartram in 1791) or CarduelisCarduelisThe genus Carduelisis a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins...
(as invalidly established by Bechstein in 1802). For the village in the Greek prefecture of Ilia, see Linaria (Greece).
Linaria is a genus of about 100 species of herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
aceous annuals
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
and perennials
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
that was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. The type genus is Plantago L..In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have...
. The genus is native to temperate regions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, northern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region.
The members of this genus are known in English as toadflax
Toadflax
Toadflax is the English name of several related genera of plants in the family Plantaginaceae and Scrophulariaceae:*Anarrhinum*Antirrhinum *Chaenorhinum*Cymbalaria*Linaria*Misopates*Nuttallanthus...
, a name shared with several related genera. The scientific name means "resembling Linum" (flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
), which the foliage of some species superficially resembles.
Closely related genera include the Nuttallanthus
Nuttallanthus
Nuttallanthus is a genus of four species of herbaceous 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...
(American toadflaxes, recently split from Linaria), Antirrhinum
Antirrhinum
Antirrhinum is a genus of plants commonly known as snapdragons from the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed...
(snapdragons) and Cymbalaria
Cymbalaria
Cymbalaria is a genus of about 10 species of herbaceous perennial plants previously treated in the family Scrophulariaceae, but recently shown by genetic research to be in the much enlarged family Plantaginaceae.The genus is native to southern Europe...
(Ivy-leaved toadflaxes).
Species
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Linaria maroccana Linaria maroccana is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name Moroccan toadflax. It is native to Morocco, but it can be found elsewhere growing wild as an introduced species, such as California. It is a readily available ornamental plant for the flower garden... |
Linaria purpurea Linaria purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name purple toadflax. It is native to Italy, but it can be found growing wild as an introduced species in parts of western North America, including California,, western Washington, and British Columbia, and... Linaria ricardoi Linaria ricardoi is a very rare Portuguese endemic plant species. This species main distribution area is near Beja region and blossoms in March to May. There are only a few known populations of the Linaria ricardoi distributed in a metapopulation, and it faces risk of extinction due to land use... Linaria vulgaris Linaria vulgaris is a species of toadflax , native to most of Europe and northern Asia, from the United Kingdom south to Spain in the west, and east to eastern Siberia and western China... |
Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris
Linaria vulgaris
Linaria vulgaris is a species of toadflax , native to most of Europe and northern Asia, from the United Kingdom south to Spain in the west, and east to eastern Siberia and western China...
) is a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an species which is widely introduced elsewhere. The yellow and orange flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are seen in many waste places. The species is also known in some areas as "butter-and-eggs
Linaria vulgaris
Linaria vulgaris is a species of toadflax , native to most of Europe and northern Asia, from the United Kingdom south to Spain in the west, and east to eastern Siberia and western China...
".
Broomleaf Toadflax or Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria genistifolia, syn. L. dalmatica) is a native of southeast Europe that has become a weed in parts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Purple Toadflax (Linaria purpurea
Linaria purpurea
Linaria purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common name purple toadflax. It is native to Italy, but it can be found growing wild as an introduced species in parts of western North America, including California,, western Washington, and British Columbia, and...
) is native to the Mediterranean region, and is a popular garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
plant, with erect stems up to 1 m tall when fully mature, with numerous dark purple or pink flowers.
Pale Toadflax (Linaria repens) from west Europe is similar to L. purpurea, but has more pale colored flowers.
Since Linaria species are toxic to livestock, the plants are regarded as noxious weeds. However, toadflaxes are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva 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 of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species, including the Mouse Moth
Mouse Moth
The Mouse Moth is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a very widespread species with a Holarctic distribution.This is a rather drab but distinctive species. The forewings are uniform dark brown with three blackish spots arranged in a triangle. The hindwings are buffish, darker towards the...
and the Common Buckeye.
Medicinal Uses
Common toadflax is especially valued for its strongly laxativeLaxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
and diuretic
Diuretic
A diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
activities. Internally it us used in the treatment of edema
Edema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
, jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
, liver diseases and skin problems. Externally it is used in an ointment to treat hemorrhoids, skin eruptions, sores and ulcers. The juice of the plant is a good remedy for inflamed eyes, though should be used with caution. Dosage is critical and it should not be given to pregnant women, since the plant might be slightly toxic.
External Links
- Species Profile- Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural LibraryUnited States National Agricultural LibraryThe United States National Agricultural Library 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...
. Lists general information and resources for Dalmatian Toadflax.