The Urban Pantheist

Photo by urbpan. Location: Union square, Allston.

Toadflax, often called "butter-and-eggs", is a European weed in the snapdragon family. It was apparently brought to North America, like the house sparrow, to remind settlers of the old country. It is an aggressive colonizer itself, appearing alongside buildings and roads, and brightening path edges with its cheerful orange and yellow flowers. The orange parts of the flowers are beacons to pollinating insects. They fly to the flower, and then have to be heavy enough to force it open and get at the nectar inside. Sphinx moths, such as the adults of the tobacco hornworm, are among those insects hefty enough to do the job. Toadflax seeds, spread by wind and ants, have a low success rate, but will germinate in shallow sandy soils--precisely the kind of soils found in cities.


Location: Centre Street, West Roxbury.