Yellow toadflax, Butter and eggs
Linaria vulgaris

Family: Plantaginaceae

What it is like

A medium sized tufted herb. It grows 25-75 cm tall. It keeps growing from year to year. The rootstock is creeping or has rhizomes. The stems are erect or curve upwards. The stems usually branch in the upper half. The leaves are narrow and crowded. They are alternate and simple. They are 2-7.5 cm long. They have one vein. The flowers are yellow. They are 25-33 mm long and in long dense racemes. The spur is 10-13 mm long and straight. One plant can produce 30,000 very small seeds.

There are about 100 Linaria species. It can be invasive. It is used in medicine. Also put in the family Scrophulariaceae.

Where it is found

It grows in temperate locations. It grows in grassy locations. In north China it grows on mountain slopes below 2,200 m above sea level. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,500 m above sea level. Tasmania Herbarium.

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Belarus, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Caribbean, Central Asia, China, Europe, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Korea, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mediterranean, North America, Russia, Slovenia, South America, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, USA

How it is used for food

Caution: The flowers were eaten as a snack.

The nectar is sucked by children.

Edible parts

Leaves, caution, nectar, flowers

How it is grown

It can be grown from seeds. It can also be grown from sections of the underground stems. Seeds can last for 10 years.

Its other names

Local names

Iarutka, L'binyy zyev, L'nianka, Navadna madronščica, Sarkantyuvirag

Synonyms

Check Kickxia