Flora of North America species comparison

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Cymbalaria

cymbalaria, toadflax
Habit Herbs, perennial.
Stems

pendent or prostrate, glabrous [villous].
Leaves

cauline, alternate [opposite];

petiole present;

blade reniform to orbiculate, fleshy, not leathery, margins lobed [entire].
Inflorescences

axillary, flowers solitary;

bracts absent.
Pedicels

present, often elongating in fruit;

bracteoles absent.
Flowers

bisexual;

sepals 5, basally connate, calyx radially symmetric, campanulate, lobes linear to lanceolate, glabrous;

corolla lilac to violet [blue, white], bilaterally symmetric, bilabiate and personate, tubular, tube base not gibbous, spurred abaxially, lobes 5, abaxial 3, adaxial 2;

stamens 4, basally adnate to corolla, didynamous, filaments glabrous;

staminode 0;

ovary 2-locular, placentation axile;

stigma scarcely clavate, entire.
Fruits

capsules, dehiscence loculicidal [indehiscent].
Seeds

[6–]15–40, dark brown to black, ovoid to oblong, wings absent.
x

= 7.

Cymbalaria
Distribution
from USDA
Europe (Mediterranean region); sw Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced in Mexico, Central America, South America, Asia, Africa, Atlantic Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 9 (1 in the flora).

Cymbalaria is characterized by personate, spurred corollas and lobed, reniform to orbiculate leaf blades with palmate venation. Generic delimitation has been consistent since R. Wettstein (1891–1893) treated Cymbalaria as distinct from Linaria. Cymbalaria muralis has been included in molecular phylogenetic analyses of Antirrhineae and Plantaginaceae. Using multiple plastid and nuclear molecular markers, Cymbalaria is strongly supported as a monophyletic clade sister to Asarina procumbens Miller (M. Ghebrehiwet et al. 2000; D. C. Albach et al. 2005; M. Fernández-Mazuecos et al. 2013; P. Carnicero et al. 2017). Several investigations support sister group status for Asarina Miller and Cymbalaria and the New World Maurandyinae clade represented by Epixiphium, Lophospermum D. Don, Maurandya Ortega, Maurandella, and Rhodochiton Zuccarini ex Otto & A. Dietrich.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 19. Author: Wayne J. Elisens.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae
Subordinate taxa
C. muralis
Name authority Hill: Brit. Herb., 113, plate 17 [upper left center]. (1756)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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