Chaenorhinum villosum (Hairy Toadflax) is currently at the end of its flowering period here in Gibraltar. It’s native to South-West Europe and North Africa.

It can be found growing along shaded areas on limestone cliff faces, typically seen at the entrances of caves, often sharing its habitat with Campanula mollis (fragile bellflower) and a variety of ferns– other cave-entrance dwellers.

C. villosum is categorized as being in the family Plantaginaceae, the plantains, which contains the Snapdragons (Antirrhinum spp.*) and Foxgloves (Digitalis spp.) amongst many other well known genera.

Its bilaterally symmetrical flower is a blue-ish purple at the end of a stem that extends up to 50 cm long with opposite succulent leaves. Its species name “villosum” refers to its hairs– the word stems from the latin “villus” which means shaggy hair.

*the term “spp.” is a shorthand plural for “species”