Dalmatian Toadflax | Nebraska Invasive Species Council

Credit: Steve Dewey, Utah State University, Bugwood.org

General Information

Species Name: Linaria dalmatica

Also Known As: Balkan toadflax, broadleaf toadflax, wild snapdragon

Family: Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)

Growth Form: Forb

Life Span: Perennial

Flowering Dates: June-September

Origin: East Mediterranean (Europe)

Toxic: Yes, plants contain a glucoside compound that is poisonous especially to cattle. However, generally livestock avoid them.

Noxious: No

Why Is It Invasive?

Mature plants are strongly competitive, especially with shallow-rooted perennials and winter annuals. Dalmatian toadflax causes negative impacts in pastures, rangelands, and natural areas, where it outcompetes natives or other desirable species.

What Does It Look Like?

General Characteristics

Dalmatian toadflax is a short-lived, perennial herb, 2.6 feet to 5 feet tall with light green leaves and yellow snapdragon-like flowers.

Flowers

Flowers are bright yellow, tinged with orange and resemble snapdragon flowers. The petals have 2 lips. The upper lip is 2 lobed and the lower lip is 3 lobed. Individual flowers occur on long racemes.

Leaves

Leaves are heart-shaped, light green and waxy. They are alternately arranged and lack petioles (leave stems) and appear to clasp the stem.

Stems

Stems are stout and upright, branching toward the top.

Seeds

Capsules that are 0.28 to 0.31 inches long, egg to cylinder shaped with many small seeds.

Photos

A closeup of the yellow bearded flowers on a dalmatian toadflax plant

Credit: Bonnie Million, Bureau of Land Management, Bugwood.org

A closeup of the pale green leaves on a dalmatian toadflax plant

Credit: K. George Beck and James Sebastian, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

A closeup of the foliage and flowers on a dalmatian toadflax plant

Credit: Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org

A dalmatian toadflax seedling growing in soil

Credit: Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org

A closeup of the broad leaves clasped to the stem of a dalmatian toadflax plant

Credit: K. George Beck and James Sebastian, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

A closeup of the stems, foliage, and flowers of damaltian toadflax

Credit: L.L. Berry, Bugwood.org

A closeup of a dalmatian toadflax plant with roots visible

Credit: K. George Beck and James Sebastian, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

A closeup of a cluster of dalmatian toadflax plants

Credit: Utah State University , Bugwood.org

Where Does It Grow?

In both dry and moist soils in disturbed areas, waste places, roadsides, fields, sandbars, river banks, pastures, cropland, farmsteads, shelterbelts, and fence rows.

How Does It Spread?

Dalmatian toadflax was originally introduced as an ornamental to the west coast of North America in the late 1800s. It escaped cultivation and has overtaken grasslands in pastures, rangelands, and natural areas in the west. Dalmatian toadflax can quickly colonize an area because it spreads by sprouts from the lateral roots and by seed. Over its lifetime, a single plant can produce up to 500,000 seeds that can persist in the seedbank for up to 10 years. Dalmatian toadflax flowers have both male and female parts and the species is self-compatible, meaning that a single plant can produce viable seed and start an infestation. Seed dispersal begins shortly after flowering and continues into winter. Dispersal can be by wind, water, wildlife, vehicles and equipment, forage, and livestock.

How Do I Control It?

Mechanical

Hand-pulling and digging can be effective on small patches and can result in eradication if done consistently for 5-6 years.

Please contact your county weed control authority to determine appropriate removal methods.

Cultural

Intensive clean cultivation can effectively control Dalmatian toadflax. Cultivation methods must continue for at least two years, with eight to ten cultivations in the first year and four to five in the next year.

When buying hay or forage, check to make sure it is weed-free certified. Management should include proper grazing and rotational grazing techniques that would maintain rangelands and prevent invasion. Disturbed areas should be re-seeded with desirable species to prevent spread.

One way that invasive plant seeds and fragments can spread is in soil. Sometimes plants are planted purposefully. You can prevent the spread of invasive plants.

PlayCleanGo: Stop Invasive Species in Your Tracks