Butter and Eggs is a flowering perennial plant in the plantain family that is native to Eurasia. It has naturalized in North America and can be found in the Piedmont and mountain areas of North Carolina. Mid-summer to mid-fall the yellow and orange snapdragon-like blooms appear in dense clusters at the top of stems. Some colonies of plants bloom later than others. Many plants in a colony may fail to bloom. The leaves are thread-like and blue or gray-green. Each leaf tapers to a petiole, or stalk-like, base and is attached directly, or sessile. Bees are attracted to the flowers. The common name butter-and-eggs comes from the yellow and cream colors of the flower. Butter and Eggs prefers full sun, good drainage, dry conditions, and gravelly or sandy soil. Under these conditions, this plant can spread aggressively because of the reduced competition from taller plants with wider leaves. It will tolerate soil with a high pH. The root system consists of a long taproot and shallow rhizomes that spread in all directions. This plant usually forms clonal colonies by means of its rhizomes and has become invasive in several western states. Roots can extend out 10 feet from the mother plant giving rise to daughter plants along the way. This plant tends to show up in disturbed areas as along roads, railways or after fires as well as in fields, pastures or forest edges. It is difficult to eradicate and is not recommended for home landscapes. The plant is often used as a source for cut flowers. Similar to Snapdragons, Butter and Eggs is often grown in children's gardens for the flowers which can be made to snap by squeezing them at the base of the corolla. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: Susceptible to aphids and powdery mildew.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Alkaline (>8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Rapid
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Prostrate; Spreading
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Whorled
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
One to two and a half inch, slender, gray-green leaves, pointed at each end. Upper leaves are alternate and lower leaves are whorled. The alternate leaves are densely distributed all around the central stem, appearing to be opposite or whorled, and vary little in length.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Orange
Flower value
Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Cup; Lipped
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
One inch yellow flowers with an orange throat blossom on a long, crowded, spike-like raceme. Flowers have a thin drooping spur at the base and a slight medicinal odor. The upper lip is two-lobed. Each flower consists of a tubular corolla with an upper and lower lip that is pale yellow and a long nectar spur at the end of the corolla that hangs downward. At the base of the flower, there is a small green calyx with 5 teeth and a short pedicel. Usually the underside of the corolla is cream-colored, in contrast to the bright orange-yellow of the palate.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Each flower is replaced by a seed capsule that contains numerous small seeds. Each seed is brown and flattened, surrounded by a large papery wing with a small notch on one side. Assisted by their papery wings, these seeds are blown about by the wind.
Stem detail
The central stem has a few hairs near its apex, but becomes glabrous or slightly woody near its base.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe, Siberia, Central Asia
Distribution
Introduced to the United States from Alaska to Texas, Canada, South Africa, southern South America.