Linaria melampyroides is a plant in the genus Linaria, native to the Transbaikal region in eastern Siberia. The genus Linaria was traditionally placed in the family Scrophulariaceae; phylogenetic analyses have now assigned it to the expanded family Plantaginaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as toadflax, a name shared with several related genera. The term “toad” in toadflax may relate to the historical use of these plants in the treatment of bubonic plague. A false etymological link has been drawn between the term bubo (an infected, swollen lymph node) and Bufo (a genus of toads). The scientific name Linaria means “resembling Linum” (flax), as the foliage of some species superficially resembles that of flax.
