Linaria

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 or butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris), a European species which is widely introduced elsewhere and grows as a common weed in some areas.<ref name=RHSAZ>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Broomleaf toadflax or Dalmatian toadflax (Linaria genistifolia, syn. L. dalmatica), a native of southeast Europe that has become a weed in parts of North America.<ref name=dalmatian>Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica). National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library.</ref>
• 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.
• 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:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col

• Linaria accitensis Template:Small
• Linaria acutiloba Template:Small
• Linaria aeruginea Template:Small
• Linaria afghanica Template:Small
• Linaria alaica Template:Small
• Linaria albifrons Template:Small
• Linaria algarviana Template:Small
• Linaria alpina Template:Small
• Linaria altaica Template:Small
• Linaria amethystea Template:Small
• Linaria amoi Template:Small
• Linaria angustissima Template:Small
• Linaria antilibanotica Template:Small
• Linaria arcusangeli Template:Small
• Linaria arenaria Template:Small
• Linaria arenicola Template:Small
• Linaria argillicola Template:Small
• Linaria armeniaca Template:Small
• Linaria arvensis Template:Small
• Linaria atlantica Template:Small
• Linaria azerbaijanensis Template:Small
• Linaria badachschanica Template:Small
• Linaria badalii Template:Small
• Linaria bamianica Template:Small
• Linaria becerrae Template:Small
• Linaria bessarabica Template:Small
• Linaria biebersteinii Template:Small
• Linaria bipartita Template:Small
• Linaria bipunctata Template:Small
• Linaria bordiana Template:Small
• Linaria boushehrensis Template:Small
• Linaria brachyphylla Template:Small
• Linaria bubanii Template:Small
• Linaria bungei Template:Small
• Linaria buriatica Template:Small
• Linaria caesia Template:Small
• Linaria capraria Template:Small
• Linaria cavanillesii Template:Small
• Linaria chalepensis Template:Small
• Linaria clementei Template:Small
• Linaria confertiflora Template:Small
• Linaria corifolia Template:Small
• Linaria × cornubiensis Template:Small
• Linaria cossoniana Template:Small
• Linaria cossonii Template:Small
• Linaria cretacea Template:Small
• Linaria dalmatica Template:Small
• Linaria damascena Template:Small
• Linaria decipiens Template:Small
• Linaria depauperata Template:Small
• Linaria diffusa Template:Small
• Linaria dissita Template:Small
• Linaria × dominii Template:Small
• Linaria dumanii Template:Small
• Linaria elegans Template:Small
• Linaria elymaitica Template:Small
• Linaria fallax Template:Small
• Linaria farsensis Template:Small
• Linaria fastigiata Template:Small
• Linaria faucicola Template:Small
• Linaria fedorovii Template:Small
• Linaria ficalhoana Template:Small
• Linaria flava Template:Small
• Linaria genistifolia Template:Small
• Linaria gharbensis Template:Small
• Linaria glacialis Template:Small
• Linaria glauca Template:Small
• Linaria golestanensis Template:Small
• Linaria grandiflora Template:Small
• Linaria griffithii Template:Small
• Linaria grjunerae Template:Small
• Linaria guilanensis Template:Small
• Linaria haelava Template:Small
• Linaria hepatica Template:Small
• Linaria heratensis Template:Small
• Linaria hirta Template:Small
• Linaria hohenackeri Template:Small
• Linaria huteri Template:Small
• Linaria × hybrida Template:Small
• Linaria iconia Template:Small
• Linaria ikonnikovii Template:Small
• Linaria imzica Template:Small
• Linaria incarnata Template:Small
• Linaria incompleta Template:Small
• Linaria intricata Template:Small
• Linaria iranica Template:Small
• Linaria × jalancina Template:Small
• Linaria japonica Template:Small
• Linaria jaxartica Template:Small
• Linaria joppensis Template:Small
• Linaria kavirensis Template:Small
• Linaria khalkhalensis Template:Small
• Linaria khorasanensis Template:Small
• Linaria × kocianovichii Template:Small
• Linaria kokanica Template:Small
• Linaria kulabensis Template:Small
• Linaria kurdica Template:Small
• Linaria latifolia Template:Small
• Linaria laxiflora Template:Small
• Linaria leptoceras Template:Small
• Linaria lineolata Template:Small
• Linaria loeselii Template:Small
• Linaria longicalcarata Template:Small
• Linaria macrophylla Template:Small
• Linaria macroura Template:Small
• Linaria maroccana Template:Small
• Linaria maymanica Template:Small
• Linaria mazandaranensis Template:Small
• Linaria melampyroides Template:Small
• Linaria melanogramma Template:Small
• Linaria meyeri Template:Small
• Linaria michauxii Template:Small
• Linaria micrantha Template:Small
• Linaria microsepala Template:Small
• Linaria multicaulis Template:Small
• Linaria munbyana Template:Small
• Linaria musilii Template:Small
• Linaria nachitschevanica Template:Small
• Linaria nigricans Template:Small
• Linaria nivea Template:Small
• Linaria nurensis Template:Small
• Linaria nuristanica Template:Small
• Linaria oblongifolia Template:Small
• Linaria odora Template:Small
• Linaria oligantha Template:Small
• Linaria × oligotricha Template:Small
• Linaria onubensis Template:Small
• Linaria orbensis Template:Small
• Linaria ordubadica Template:Small
• Linaria pamirica Template:Small
• Linaria paradoxa Template:Small
• Linaria parviracemosa Template:Small
• Linaria pedicellata Template:Small
• Linaria pedunculata Template:Small
• Linaria pelisseriana Template:Small
• Linaria peloponnesiaca Template:Small
• Linaria peltieri Template:Small
• Linaria pinifolia Template:Small
• Linaria platycalyx Template:Small
• Linaria polygalifolia Template:Small
• Linaria popovii Template:Small
• Linaria propinqua Template:Small
• Linaria pseudolaxiflora Template:Small
• Linaria pseudoviscosa Template:Small
• Linaria purpurea Template:Small
• Linaria pyramidalis Template:Small
• Linaria qartobensis Template:Small
• Linaria quasisessilis Template:Small
• Linaria reflexa Template:Small
• Linaria remotiflora Template:Small
• Linaria repens Template:Small
• Linaria ricardoi Template:Small
• Linaria riffea Template:Small
• Linaria × rocheri Template:Small
• Linaria rubioides Template:Small
• Linaria sabulosa Template:Small
• Linaria salangensis Template:Small
• Linaria salzmannii Template:Small
• Linaria saposhnikovii Template:Small
• Linaria saturejoides Template:Small
• Linaria saxatilis Template:Small
• Linaria schelkownikowii Template:Small
• Linaria schirvanica Template:Small
• Linaria semialata Template:Small
• Linaria × sepium Template:Small
• Linaria sessilis Template:Small
• Linaria simplex Template:Small
• Linaria spartea Template:Small
• Linaria striatella Template:Small
• Linaria supina Template:Small
• Linaria tarhunensis Template:Small
• Linaria tenuis Template:Small
• Linaria thibetica Template:Small
• Linaria thymifolia Template:Small
• Linaria tingitana Template:Small
• Linaria tonzigii Template:Small
• Linaria triornithophora Template:Small
• Linaria triphylla Template:Small
• Linaria tristis Template:Small
• Linaria tursica Template:Small
• Linaria unaiensis Template:Small
• Linaria × valdesiana Template:Small
• Linaria venosa Template:Small
• Linaria ventricosa Template:Small
• Linaria veratrifolia Template:Small
• Linaria verticillata Template:Small
• Linaria virgata Template:Small
• Linaria viscosa Template:Small
• Linaria volgensis Template:Small
• Linaria vulgaris Template:Small
• Linaria warionis Template:Small
• Linaria weilleri Template:Small
• Linaria yunnanensis Template:Small
• Linaria yusufeliensis Template:Small
• Linaria × zaborskiana Template:Small
• Linaria zaissanica Template:Small

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.<ref name=sing>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.</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name=duke>Duke, J. A. Ethnobotanical uses: Linaria vulgaris. Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.</ref>

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.
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