Leaf
Bastien Milanese, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Common toadflax
Linaria vulgaris Mill.
Also known as: Yellow toadflax, Butter-and-eggs
Family: Plantaginaceae
30 to 80 cm tall
Banks, wasteland, gardens, all soils even poor ones
Flowering: June – October
Full sun
Hardy to -30°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its yellow flowers, shaped like a miniature snapdragon, open only under the pressure of pollinating bumblebees.
🍃 Leaves
Narrow, linear, grey-green, numerous
🌸 Flowers
Spikes of bright yellow flowers with an orange throat, shaped like a miniature snapdragon
🍎 Fruits
Small ovoid capsules
🪵 Bark
Upright clump with creeping roots
🗺️ Distribution
Europe, temperate Asia; very common on wasteland, banks and path edges in France.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Yellow spurred flowers adapted to bumblebees, the only insects strong enough to open the closed corolla (as in snapdragons).
✂️ Horticultural uses
Naturalistic beds, flowering meadows; little grown in the classic ornamental garden, self-seeds readily.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Slightly toxic in large quantity (alkaloids), traditionally considered purgative.
🌿 Other Plantaginaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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