Purple Toadflax - Linaria purpurea

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Description

Medium height, tufted, hairless plant, stems erect to ascending, often branched above. Leaves linear, numerous, the lower whorled. Flowers purple or purplish violet 9 to 12 mm, in long, rather dense tapered racemes, the spur 5 mm long and curved.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Waste places, disturbed ground and cultivated land.

When to see it

June to August.

Life History

Perennial.

UK Status

Locally naturalised, mainly in England.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 88 of the 617 tetrads.

  • Graham Calow
    Stoney Stanton
    14 July 2016
  • David Nicholls
    Croft Pasture
    26 June 2014
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    13 June 2006
  • Steven Lewis
    Welby
    27 June 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    13 June 2008
  • Dylan
    Melton Hartopp Road
    13 May 2023
    Purple Toadflax
  • Graham Calow
    Cambridge Road, Cosby
    15 May 2016

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names
Purple Toadflax
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Lamiales
Family:
Plantaginaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
110
First record:
13/06/2006 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
20/03/2024 (Pugh, Dylan)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

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Latest images

Latest records

  • Graham Calow
    Ellistown
    27 June 2011
  • Graham Calow
    Frolesworth
    10 June 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    19 June 2013
  • Graham Calow
    Park Road, Cosby
    28 June 2016
  • David Nicholls
    Ratby
    18 June 2015
  • Graham Calow
    Near Huncote Road, Stoney Stanton
    23 June 2016
  • Graham Calow
    off Park Road, Cosby
    28 June 2016
  • David Nicholls
    Ratby church
    04 January 2023