MHG Volunteer Blog 31: Toadflax

It's time for the latest blog from our dedicated team of volunteer gardeners at Pontefract Castle.

Find out more about their blog series here.

It was a bit of a wild start today. With both wind and rain lashing the Medieval Herb Garden it looked quite Autumnal.  This did not deter two lovely ladies, from near Lake Constance in Germany! They had stopped off to visit the castle on their way to Scotland.

Due to the weather, little could be done outside today. So, Dave checked on the strength of our “home-made” liquid fertilizer. Carole repackaged the lovage and alexanders seeds into smaller packets for storage and sowing next year. These had been harvested in the last couple of weeks. It was also an opportune time to tidy the grounds’ equipment cupboard. We also did a stocktake of plant pots and labels etc.

The Medieval Herb Garden on a windy summer's day

Plant of the Week - Toadflax (linaria vulgaris)

The Latin name 'Linaria' comes from 'linum' (flax). It was named by Linnaeus, due to its likeness to a flax plant before flowering. The name 'Toadflax' originated in the resemblance of the flower to the wide mouth of a toad. Because of its similarity to flax, it is often known as flaxweed.

It is also known as bridewort, gall wort and fluellin.

The mixture of light yellow and orange in the flowers has given it the folk names of 'Butter and Eggs,' 'Eggs and Bacon,' etc.

The genus 'Linaria' contains 125 species, seven of which are found in Great Britain. Toadflax is a perennial or annual, columnar, deciduous, herbaceous plant. It grows to a height and spread of 18 inches. It will grow in full sun in any South or West-facing, well-drained, loam or sandy soil.

Before flowering, it has a strong resemblance to flax. It has slender 6–18 in high stems. The leaves are fine, lance-shaped, threadlike, glaucous blue-green leaves. They are 0.75–2.25 in long and 0.04–0.20 in broad.

Toadflax flowers from mid-Summer to mid-Autumn. The flowers are similar to those of the antirrhinum or snapdragon. The flowers are pale yellow, except for the lower tip which is orange. They are are 0.98–1.30 in long, borne in dense terminal racemes (clusters).

Annual seed production is between 1,500–30,000. Most seeds fall within 18 inches of the parent plant.

Toadflax growing in the Medieval Herb Garden

Culinary uses of toadflax

There are no culinary uses of toadflax. The leaves of the Toadflax contain an acrid, but not milky, juice. This makes them quite unpleasant - even if the flowers look a bit like fried eggs!

Folklore and other facts about toadflax

Seeds of the common toadflax were identified from the Hoxnian interglacial strata at Clacton (424,000 to 374,000 years ago).

Toadflax was used in spells and rituals. It was also used as a protection against evil magic. In England, three toadflax seeds strung on a linen thread were said to ward off evil. It was also seen as a useful plant for breaking hexes. In Scotland, walking around a toadflax plant three times was said to unbind any spell.

The flowers have been used in Germany as a yellow dye.

During the 1600s, many people wore toadflax on the soles of their feet to ward off fevers.

The mouth of the flower is closed. It never opens until a strong insect forces its way in. Usually, the only visitors are the large bees; bumble-bee, honey-bee, and several wild bees. These are able to open the flower, and their tongues are long enough to reach the nectar.

Toadflax is a food plant for a large number of insects. These include: the bog fritillary (Boloria eunomia), sweet gale moth (Acronicta euphorbiae), mouse moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis), silver Y (Autographa gamma), toadflax moth (Calophasia lunula), toadflax pug (Eupithecia linariata), satyr pug (Eupithecia satyrata), red-fringed conch (Falseuncaria ruficiliana), boarded sallow (Pyrrhia umbra), brown rustic (Rusina ferruginea), and twin spot plume (Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla).

Medieval uses*

It was gathered when coming into flower and could be used fresh or dried. The plant was valued for its strongly laxative and diuretic activities. As a tisane, it was used internally for the treatment of jaundice, liver diseases, oedema, gall bladder complaints and skin problems.

A cooling ointment was made from the fresh plant. The whole herb would be chopped and boiled in lard until crisp. It was then strained. When cooled, it produced a fine green ointment, used against haemorrhoids, sores, ulcers and skin eruptions.

*As always, this isn't to be considered medical advice today. Please don't use any plants mentioned in these blogs as medicine without advice from a doctor.