Linaria maroccana
Encyclopedia
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
. This is an annual herb growing erect to approach half a meter in maximum height, its stem with linear leaves 2 to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of flowers occupying the top of the stem. At the base of each flower is a calyx
with five narrow, pointed lobes. The flower is 2 to 4 centimeters centimeters long with five lobes arranged into two lips with a spur at the end. The flower is often purple in color with white near the throat, but flowers of many different colors are bred for the garden. Dwarf
cultivars are also available.
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...
known by the common name Moroccan toadflax. It is native to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, but it can be found elsewhere growing wild as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
, such as California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is a readily available ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for the flower garden
Flower garden
A flower garden is any garden where flowers are grown for decorative purposes. Because flowers bloom at varying times of the year, and some plants are annual, dying each winter, the design of flower gardens can take into consideration to maintain a sequence of bloom and even of consistent color...
. This is an annual herb growing erect to approach half a meter in maximum height, its stem with linear leaves 2 to 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of flowers occupying the top of the stem. At the base of each flower is a calyx
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
with five narrow, pointed lobes. The flower is 2 to 4 centimeters centimeters long with five lobes arranged into two lips with a spur at the end. The flower is often purple in color with white near the throat, but flowers of many different colors are bred for the garden. Dwarf
Dwarfing
Dwarfing is a characteristic in plants and animals whereby one or more members of a breed or cultivar are significantly smaller than standard members of their species...
cultivars are also available.