Linaria

Belongs within: Scrophulariaceae.

Linaria, toadflaxes, is a primarily Eurasian genus of ascending to erect herbs with flowers borne in a terminal spike or raceme. Linaria vulgaris, a perennial species with more or less linear leaves and yellow corollas, is known by the vernacular name of ‘butter and eggs’ (Hickman 1993).

Characters (Hickman 1993): Annual to perennial, generally glabrous. Stem ascending to erect, simple or branched at base. Leaves generally opposite or whorled (or upper alternate), sessile, simple, linear to ovate, generally wider on non-flowering shoots, entire to dentate, pinnately veined. Inflorescence a spike or raceme, terminal; bracts reduced, alternate. Flower with calyx lobes 5, deep, more or less equal; corolla five-lobed, two-lipped, lower side of tube spurred at base, lower side of throat swollen, more or less hairy, more or less closing corolla below lips; stamens 4, in two pairs, included; stigma small, head-like or lobes 2, flat. Fruit more or less spheric, opening by slits into chambers near tip. Seeds many, flat and winged or pyramid-like and more or less ridged.

<==Linaria
    |--L. alpinaC55a
    |--L. bipartitaH93
    |--L. canadensis [incl. L. canadensis var. texana]H93
    |--L. candolleiC55a
    |--L. fruticosaD17
    |--L. genistifoliaH93
    |    |--L. g. ssp. genistifoliaH93
    |    `--L. g. ssp. dalmaticaH93
    |--L. latifoliaC06
    |--L. longipesD30
    |--L. maroccanaH93
    |--L. micranthaC55a
    |--L. micromerioidesD17
    |--L. pinifoliaH93
    |--L. purpureaC55b
    |--L. sagittataD17
    |    |--L. s. var. sagittataD17
    |    `--L. s. var. linearifoliaD17
    |--L. simplexC55a
    |--L. supinaC55a
    |--L. thymifoliaC55a
    `--L. vulgarisC55a

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[C55a] Candolle, A. de. 1855a. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 1. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[C55b] Candolle, A. de. 1855b. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 2. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[C06] Cheeseman, T. F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. John Mackay, Government Printer: Wellington.

[D17] Diels, L. 1917. Beiträge zur Flora der Zentral-Sahara und ihrer Pflanzengeographie. Nach der Sammelausbeute des Freiherrn Hans Geyr von Schweppenburg. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 54 (Beiblatt 120): 51–155.

[D30] Druce, G. C. 1930. Account of a botanical tour in Cyprus. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London 141: 50–52.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).