Cymbalaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cymbalaria | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cymbalaria muralis (Ivy-leaved toadflax)
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||
|
About 10 species, including: |
Cymbalaria is a genus of about 10 species of herbaceous perennial plants previously treated in the family Scrophulariaceae, but recently shown by genetic research to be in the much enlarged family Plantaginaceae.
The genus is native to southern Europe. It is closely related to the genera Linaria and Antirrhinum, differing in having creeping growth and flowers borne singly rather than in dense erect spikes. The common name toadflax is shared with Linaria and other related genera. The scientific name means "resembling a cymbal" for the somewhat rounded leaves.
By far the best known species is Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), native to southwest Europe. It has widely naturalised elsewhere and is most well known in English-speaking countries as Kenilworth Ivy.
It characteristically grows in sheltered crevices in walls and pathways, or in rocks and scree, making a trailing or scrambling plant up to 1 m long. Its small (1/4") pale purple flowers, often with two areas of yellow near the centre, are somewhat orchid-like in form. The various species differ in subtle details of leaf shape and flower colour; the flowers of one are pure white with a yellow centre and occasionally several species can be found growing together.
