Comandra umbellata (Bastard Toadflax)
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): | ![]() |
National distribution (click map to enlarge): | ![]() |
Pick an image for a larger view. See the glossary for icon descriptions.
Detailed Information
Flower:
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:
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 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.
Please visit our sponsors
Native Plant Nurseries, Restoration and Landscaping Services ↓
More photos
Bastard Toadflax plants
more plants
plants with broader leaves
rock outcrop habitat
a colony of Bastard Toadflax
branching plant
early spring growth
fall color
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?
on: 2010-06-11 17:05:35
Several plants on the edge of a short grass remnant in this park.
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
on: 2018-05-24 14:52:38
5/24/18 - Blooming in open prairie areas of the dunes/
on: 2018-05-29 09:40:13
Growing in disturbed soil along roadside.
on: 2021-05-21 22:23:33
Now blooming at 1 Mile Lake Prairie
on: 2022-05-29 16:04:38
Found in a couple different areas on the edge of woodland area near ditch.
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.