Linaria is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plantaginaceae.
Taxonomy Linaria was traditionally placed in the family Scrophulariaceae. Phylogenetic analysis has now placed it in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae.
Closely related genera include Nuttallanthus (American toadflaxes, recently split from Linaria), Antirrhinum (snapdragons) and Cymbalaria (ivy-leaved toadflaxes).
Cultivation Several Linaria species are cultivated as garden plants, and some are regarded as having a weedy habit.
Common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), a European species which is widely introduced elsewhere and grows as a common weed in some areas. Balkan toadflax or Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica, syn. L. genistifolia subsp. dalmatica), a native of southeast Europe that has become a weed in parts of North America.Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica). National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Purple toadflax (Linaria purpurea), a species native to the Mediterranean region grown as a garden plant for its dark purple or pink flowers. The version with purple flowers can be mistaken for lavender. Spreads readily. Pale toadflax (Linaria repens), a species from western Europe similar to L. purpurea, but with paler flowers. Alpine toadflax (Linaria alpina), purple flowers with orange (or purple) lobes in the center. Annual toadflax or Moroccan toadflax (Linaria maroccana), the flower has five lobes arranged into two lips with a spur at the end, often purple with white.
Species The following species are recognised in the genus Linaria:
Linaria accitensis Linaria acutiloba Linaria aeruginea Linaria afghanica Linaria alaica Linaria albifrons Linaria algarviana Linaria almadensis Linaria alpina Linaria altaica Linaria amethystea Linaria amoi Linaria angustissima Linaria antilibanotica Linaria arcusangeli Linaria arenaria Linaria arenicola Linaria argillicola Linaria armeniaca Linaria arvensis Linaria atlantica Linaria azerbaijanensis Linaria badachschanica Linaria badalii Linaria bamianica Linaria becerrae Linaria bessarabica Linaria biebersteinii Linaria bipartita Linaria bipunctata Linaria bordiana Linaria boushehrensis Linaria brachyphylla Linaria bubanii Linaria bungei Linaria buriatica Linaria caesia Linaria capraria Linaria cavanillesii Linaria chalepensis Linaria clementei Linaria confertiflora Linaria corifolia Linaria × cornubiensis Linaria cossoniana Linaria cossonii Linaria cretacea Linaria dalmatica Linaria damascena Linaria decipiens Linaria depauperata Linaria diffusa Linaria dissita Linaria × dominii Linaria dumanii Linaria elegans Linaria elymaitica Linaria fallax Linaria farsensis Linaria fastigiata Linaria faucicola Linaria fedorovii Linaria ficalhoana Linaria flava Linaria genistifolia Linaria gharbensis Linaria glacialis Linaria glauca Linaria golestanensis Linaria grandiflora Linaria griffithii Linaria grjunerae Linaria guilanensis Linaria haelava Linaria hepatica Linaria heratensis Linaria hirta Linaria hohenackeri Linaria huteri Linaria × hybrida Linaria iconia Linaria ikonnikovii Linaria imzica Linaria incarnata Linaria incompleta Linaria intricata Linaria iranica Linaria × jalancina Linaria japonica Linaria jaxartica Linaria joppensis Linaria kavirensis Linaria khalkhalensis Linaria khorasanensis Linaria × kocianovichii Linaria kokanica Linaria kulabensis Linaria kurdica Linaria latifolia Linaria laxiflora Linaria leptoceras Linaria lineolata Linaria loeselii Linaria longicalcarata Linaria macrophylla Linaria macroura Linaria maroccana Linaria maymanica Linaria mazandaranensis Linaria melampyroides Linaria melanogramma Linaria meyeri Linaria michauxii Linaria micrantha Linaria microsepala Linaria multicaulis Linaria munbyana Linaria musilii Linaria nachitschevanica Linaria nigricans Linaria nivea Linaria nurensis Linaria nuristanica Linaria oblongifolia Linaria odora Linaria oligantha Linaria × oligotricha Linaria onubensis Linaria orbensis Linaria ordubadica Linaria pamirica Linaria paradoxa Linaria parviracemosa Linaria pedicellata Linaria pedunculata Linaria pelisseriana Linaria peloponnesiaca Linaria peltieri Linaria pinifolia Linaria platycalyx Linaria polygalifolia Linaria popovii Linaria propinqua Linaria pseudolaxiflora Linaria pseudoviscosa Linaria purpurea Linaria pyramidalis Linaria qartobensis Linaria quasisessilis Linaria reflexa Linaria remotiflora Linaria repens Linaria ricardoi Linaria riffea Linaria × rocheri Linaria rubioides Linaria sabulosa Linaria salangensis Linaria salzmannii Linaria sagrensis Linaria saposhnikovii Linaria saturejoides Linaria saxatilis Linaria schelkownikowii Linaria schirvanica Linaria semialata Linaria × sepium Linaria sessilis Linaria simplex Linaria spartea Linaria striatella Linaria supina Linaria tarhunensis Linaria tenuis Linaria thibetica Linaria thymifolia Linaria tingitana Linaria tonzigii Linaria triornithophora Linaria triphylla Linaria tristis Linaria tursica Linaria unaiensis Linaria × valdesiana Linaria venosa Linaria ventricosa Linaria veratrifolia Linaria verticillata Linaria virgata Linaria viscosa Linaria volgensis Linaria vulgaris Linaria warionis Linaria weilleri Linaria yunnanensis Linaria yusufeliensis Linaria × zaborskiana Linaria zaissanica
Etymology The members of this genus are known in English as toadflax, a name shared with several related genera. The 'toad' in toadflax may relate to the plants having historically been used to treat bubonic plague, a false link having been drawn between the words 'bubo' and 'Bufo'. The scientific name Linaria means "resembling linum" (flax), which the foliage of some species superficially resembles.
Distribution and habitat The genus is native to temperate regions of Europe, northern Africa and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region.
Ecology Some Linaria are regarded as noxious weeds. They are likely toxic to livestock, but ruminants generally avoid them.Sing, S. E. and R. K. Peterson. (2011). Assessing environmental risks for established invasive weeds: Dalmatian (Linaria dalmatica) and yellow (L. vulgaris) toadflax in North America. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 8(7) 2828-53.
Chemical composition
Linaria species are rich in alkaloids, iridoids, terpenes, phenolic acids and flavonoids.
Vasicine, vasicinone, 7-hyrdoxyvasicine, linarinic acid, choline, linavuline, luteolin, acacetin, apigenin, chrysin, quercetin, myricetin, linarioside, aucubin, linaride, iridolinaroside A-D, and iridolinarin A-C are some compounds found in plants of this genus.
Uses Toadflaxes are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the mouse moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis) and the common buckeye (Junonia coenia).
Traditional medicine Linaria vulgaris has been used as a medicinal herb.Duke, J. A. Ethnobotanical uses: Linaria vulgaris. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.
References
Bibliography
A Phylogeny of Toadflaxes (Linaria Mill.) Based on Nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequences: Systematic and Evolutionary Consequences. Mario Fernández-Mazuecos, José Luis Blanco-Pastor, and Pablo Vargas. International Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol. 174, No. 2 (February 2013), pp. 234–249 Published by: The University of Chicago Press, Article DOI: 10.1086/668790 Vargas P, JA Rosselló, R Oyama, J Güemes. 2004 Molecular evidence for naturalness of genera in the tribe Antirrhineae (Scrophulariaceae) and three independent evolutionary lineages from the New World and the Old. Plant Systematics and Evolution 249:151–172.