Antirrhinum majus L.
snapdragon
Short-lived perennial; stems to c. 60 cm tall, becoming woody at base, simple or branched. Lvs shortly petiolate. Lamina 20-50 × 3-15 mm, usually linear to lanceolate, occasionally broader, glabrous; base narrowly cuneate. Fls in long, terminal, densely glandular-hairy, rather compact racemes; peduncle long, often = flowering part. Bracts 5-9 mm long, ovate. Calyx 5-8 mm long, deeply lobed, glandular-hairy; lobes elliptic to suborbicular or broad-ovate, equal. Corolla 30-40 mm long to apex of erect upper lip, usually purple or rose, sometimes yellow, whitish or bicoloured, glandular-hairy outside; tube 3-4× calyx, c. 1 cm wide; lobes large and rounded, with recurved margins, the middle lobe of lower lip not concealed; upper lip emarginate. Capsule (8)-12-15 mm long, ovoid or ovoid-oblong, densely glandular-hairy. Seeds c. 1 mm long, oblong, dark, strongly rugose with irregular ridges.
N.; S.: widely scattered, casual cultivation escape.
S.W. Europe 1946
Gutters, gravel paths and similar well-drained sites, especially in waste places near buildings, sometimes less modified sites such as coastal sand dunes, river banks and cliff faces.
FL Jan-Dec.
Snapdragon or garden antirrhinum is very commonly cultivated throughout N.Z. and the sp. seeds prolifically here. A number of cvs are present in gardens and wild plants can be expected to exhibit any corolla colour found in the sp., although most wild collections have rose or purplish fls. A large population at Birdlings Flat, Canterbury, has almost the full range of colours.
