Toad-flax Nuttallanthus canadensis
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Linaria canadensis
- Phonetic Spelling
- nut-al-ANTH-us ka-na-DEN-sis
- Description
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Linaria canadensis is native to eastern North America from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to Texas and Florida. It is an annual or biennial growing to 10-32 inches tall, with slender, erect flowering stems. The flowers are purple to off-white, .4 to .6 inches long, appearing from mid-spring to late summer. It typically grows in bare areas and grasslands.
Plant in coastal locations in naturalized areas to support wildlife. Use in full sun and dry sandy soil where there is little competition from other plants. Rocky soil, mesic conditions, and a little shade are also tolerated.
Habitat: In a wide variety of natural and disturbed habitats, especially common and weedy in disturbed sites such as roadsides and fields, also common and apparently native in thin soil of rock outcrops
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Nuttallanthus
- Species:
- canadensis
- Family:
- Plantaginaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Biennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Canada to Mexico, Dominican Republic, W. & S. South America.
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant supports Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) larvae. Common Buckeye's flights generally occur between May through October with 2-3 broods. However, in the Deep South, the flights can occur throughout the whole year. Caterpillars eat the host plant's leaves while adults feed on the nectar of composite flowers including aster, chicory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Nectar source to bees and butterflies.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Native Plant
- Wildflower
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
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Fruit:
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Description:
- Seed capsule that splits open to release the flattened smooth seeds. These seeds can be blown about by the wind. Fruit displays from April to September.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Description:
- Blue flowers bloom from March to July.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Linear
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- The leaves are up to 1½" long and 1/8" across. They are linear to oblong-linear, glabrous, smooth along the margins, and sessile. The leaves on the taller flowering stalks are alternate, while the leaves on the lower vegetative stems are usually opposite.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Problems:
- Weedy
