Comandra umbellata (Bastard Toadflax)

Plant Info
Also known as:
Genus:Comandra
Family:Comandraceae (Bastard Toadflax)
Life cycle:perennial
Origin:native
Habitat:part shade, sun; dry prairies, open woods, sandy or rocky soil
Bloom season:May - July
Plant height:3 to 12 inches
Wetland Indicator Status:GP: UPL MW: FACU NCNE: FACU
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge):Minnesota county distribution map
National distribution (click map to enlarge):National distribution map

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Detailed Information

Flower: Flower shape: 5-petals Flower shape: tubular Cluster type: flat

[photo of flowers] Tightly packed flat clusters of a few to many flowers at the end of a slender stalk, at the end top of the plant. Individual flowers are white to pinkish, 1/8 to ¼ inch across, tubular with 5 pointed lobes that flare out, giving it a star shape. The inside of the tube is green and holds 5 yellow stamens. A plant may branch, with clusters at the end of branching stems.

Leaves and stem: Leaf attachment: alternate Leaf type: simple

[photo of leaves] Leaves are lance-elliptic, toothless, hairless, ½ to 2 inches long and 1/8 to ¾ inch wide, with a pointed or blunt tip and little or no stalk. Attachment is alternate. Stems are smooth and slender, branched or not. Plants can form colonies from long rhizomes.

Fruit: Fruit type: capsule/pod

[photo of developing fruit] Fruit is a round drupe about ¼ inch in diameter with the remains of the sepals at the tip. The drupe turns blue to brown as it matures and contains a single large seed.

Notes:

Bastard Toadflax is semi-parasitic, feeding on other plants through its rhizomes. The DNR lists 2 varieties in Minnesota: var. pallida, which has a waxy coating on leaves, and var. umbellata, which lacks the waxy leaves. There are no herbarium records of var. pallida in Minnesota but it is most likely to be in western counties.

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More photos

Photos by K. Chayka taken at taken at Long Lake Regional Park, Ramsey County and Wild River State Park, Chisago County. Other photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Heather - Minnetonka, Purgatory Park
on: 2010-06-11 17:05:35

Several plants on the edge of a short grass remnant in this park.

Posted by: Brian - LeSueur County, Kasota Prairie SNA
on: 2011-06-12 01:40:20

I saw quite a few of these in the Kasota Prairie SNA on May 28, 2011. Here's a link for a photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aeranthes/5820505030/in/photostream

Posted by: Tim Johnson - Uncas Dunes SNA in Sherburne County
on: 2018-05-24 14:52:38

5/24/18 - Blooming in open prairie areas of the dunes/

Posted by: Al Larson - Southern Cass Co.
on: 2018-05-29 09:40:13

Growing in disturbed soil along roadside.

Posted by: Molly Stoddard - Fergus Falls
on: 2021-05-21 22:23:33

Now blooming at 1 Mile Lake Prairie

Posted by: luciearl - Lake Shore, MN
on: 2022-05-29 16:04:38

Found in a couple different areas on the edge of woodland area near ditch.

Posted by: Kate Gipp - Lost Prairie SNA
on: 2022-06-05 14:41:40

There were a large number of Bastard Toadflax with both white and pink blooms not far from the entrance of the SNA.

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