Our mystery seeds from last week (229) were from a plant known by several common names, including butter-and-eggs and common toadflax. The scientific name is Linaria vulgaris.

butter-and-eggs-flower

The common name butter-and-eggs comes from the lovely yellow and orange color of the snapdragon-like flowers.

common-toadflax-leavesCommon toadflax is a relatively small perennial  with delicate leaves. It is originally from Europe-Northern Asia and escaped cultivation in North America. It is considered to be an invasive weed, particularly of pastureland, in several states.

toadflax-seeds-hurst(Public domain photo by  Steve Hurst, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.)

In addition to the papery wings around the seeds, they also have warty bumps that can be seen under a microscope.

common-toadflax-flower-1Although considered to be a weed by some, I do have fond memories of “snapping” open the flowers by pinching them in a manner similar to snapdragons when I was a child.

What do you call these plants? Do they grow where you live?