Nuttallanthus Species, Blue Toadflax, Texas Toadflax

This plant appeared out of nowhere and it is just floating above my other plants in a dainty whitish lavender, nodding in the wind. I sur...Read Moree hope it comes back. we are having a dampish winter compared to what it has been and all sorts of odd things are appearing.

A native TX wildflower, Texas toadflax is a subspecies of Linaria canadensis. The plant bears small, alternating flowers roughly 1 cm in...Read More size, on top of slender stalks. The flowers are usually blue, lavender or purple but may also be white, or less commonly, pale pink.

A very drought resistant plant once established, it thrives in a poor alluvial soil and is adaptive to a wide variety of soil pH. Nitrogen-rich soils not recommended since they produce excessive leaf growth at the expense of flowering. Needs a sunny position.

The small flowers and wispy foliage make the plant pretty easy to overlook. But it grows in large, attractive patches of flowers when in its favorite niche: Sunny areas with a light, sandy or gritty soil. It can also do OK in light gravel.

In early Spring, sandy meadows or roadsides in TX may have a haze of blue, purple, and white, from this toadflax in bloom. This plant was used for medicine by natives and settlers for the treatment of external hemorrhoids, and is still sometimes used this way by herbalists.

This plant is moderately easy to grow from seed.

• Family: Figwort (Scrophulariaceae)
• Habitat: dry sandy or rocky soil, abandoned fields, roadsides
• Height: Usually, 6-14 inches. Rarely, may reach height of 18 inches.
• Flower size: 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch diameter, average diameter is 1cm
• Flower color: pale blue to purple or lilac, rarely white or pink
• Flowering time: Feb-Apr, may sometimes rebloom in Sept-Oct.
• Origin: Native to USA