Kickxia elatine (L.) Dumort.
sharp-leaved fluellen (sharpleaf cancerwort)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
sharp-leaved fluellen (sharpleaf cancerwort)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Annual herb; stems prostrate, 20-60 cm long, slender, freely branched from near the base, long-hairy and also somewhat glandular-hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate except the few lowest opposite, stalked, the stalks 1-5 mm long, the lowest leaves oval and coarse-toothed, the upper and middle leaves arrowhead-shaped with basal flanges, 1-3 cm long, long-hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of single long-stalked flowers in the axils of leaflike bracts, the stalks thread-like, smooth, bent downward, 1-3 cm long; corollas bilaterally symmetric, pale yellow with purple upper lip, 6-10 mm long, 2-lipped, with a straight spur at the base; calyces deeply 5-lobed, the lobes narrowly egg-shaped, long-hairy; stamens 4.
Fruits:
Capsules, globe-shaped, smooth, opening near the top by 2 large pores with deciduous lids; seeds honeycombed.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist, sandy roadsides and waste places; rare on S Vancouver Island and the lower mainland; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Antirrhinum elatine L.
Linaria elatine (L.) P. Mill.