Toadflax

Toadflax — Toadflax or Linaria is a genus of about 100 species of herbaceous annuals and perennials that was traditionally placed in the foxglove family Scrophulariaceae. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae. The genus is native to temperate regions of Europe, northern Africa and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region.

The members of this genus are known in English as toadflax, a name shared with several related genera. The scientific name means “resembling Linum” (flax), which the foliage of some species superficially resembles.