Yellow Toadflax is a noxious weed which is native to Europe and introduced to North America as an ornamental plant, growth for medicinal purposes and to make yellow dye.

This plant prefers well-drained sandy or gravelly soils, dry summers, and open, sparsely vegetated sites. These weeds contain a poisonous glycoside that may be harmful to livestock.

• Also known as Common Toadflax or Butter and Eggs, it is distinguished by its Snap Dragon-like yellow flowers with deep orange centers.
• Leaves are soft, narrow, pointed at both ends and mainly alternate, but lower leaves appear to be opposite due to crowding.
• Within two to three weeks of germination, the seedling produces a tap root that spreads horizontal roots two to five centimeters below the surface and produces up to 100 shoots throughout the summer.
• Flowers, about an inch in length, cluster in groups of five to 30 at the top of the stem.
• Plant height ranges from 10 to 80cm.
• A similar plant often mistaken for Yellow Toadflax is Leafy Spurge. The easiest way to distinguish between the two is by breaking them open. If a white, milky substance is found leaking out of the plant, it is definitely Leafy Spurge; if not, it is Yellow Toadflax.

• grasslands
• open forests
• roadsides
• railroad tracks
• logged forests
• cultivated fields
• gravel pits

Yellow Toadflax is a creeping perennial which begins growth in the early spring. Plants flower from May to August, and seeds mature from June to October.

Yellow Toadflax reproduces by seed as well as through its creeping roots. Taproots may be up to one meter long, while lateral roots may be several meters long and can develop buds capable of forming new plants.

• Seed capsules are round, five to 10mm long, and two-celled. They are brown or black in color, circular, and surrounded by a notched papery collar that acts as wings in spreading the seed.
• Seeds can remain dormant for up to 10 years.
• Over 90 per cent of the seeds fall within 50cm of the parent plant.
• A mature plant can produce up to 30,000 seeds annually, and a single stem can contain over 5,000 seeds.
• In Alberta alone, 28,000ha are estimated to be infested with Yellow Toadflax.

• Best control option is to stop the plant from going to seed.
• Pulling or cultivating young plants in small infestations before they go to seed will provide control if done consistently for several years.
• When pulling the weed, make sure to remove the lateral roots completely as the root can tear and underground portions can survive, causing new plants to sprout up.
• The site will need to be attended to frequently (several times per season) to completely get rid of the weed.
• Mechanical control is not recommended for control of medium or large stands of this weed.
• While mowing can be used to control the weed prior to herbicide application, it is not otherwise recommended as it stimulates more plants to grow from the roots. While mowing before the plant seeds reduces the number of seeds available for germination, the stand density may increase from root sprouting.
• Providing competition with desirable plants is a good option following other control methods which have already controlled the weed.
• Check your Crop Protection Guide for herbicide advice.