Toadflax

Blue toadflax (Nuttallanthus canadensis syn. Linaria canadensis) is a common native Florida weed often seen in roadsides, fields and other disturbed locations. This plant species is in the Figwort (Scrophulariaceae) family and can be found north into Canada and West to Texas.

Blue toadflax blooms from mid-Spring to mid-Summer with small whitish to purple-blue flowers. These plants have tiny needle-like leaves and tend to grow in colonies that will put on pretty shows of blooms and form a small sea of bluish purple. Blue toadflax is an annual that reproduces by tiny flat seeds that are spread by the wind.

A close relative of this species is named Apalacicola Toadflax (Nuttallanthus floridanus) which is found only in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

The genus is named for English Botanist Thomas Nuttall (1786 – 1859). From 1808 to 1841 Nuttall lived in America and traveled routes previously charted by Louis and Clark to collect plant specimens with fellow botanist John Bradbury. Together they collected many specimins that were

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previously unknown to science. In 1818 Tomas Nuttall published The Genera of North American Plants. From 1825-1834 Nuttall held the post of curator of the Harvard Botanical Gardens.