About Linaria amethystea (Vent.) Hoffmanns. & Link
Linaria amethystea (Vent.) Hoffmanns. & Link is a small plant that produces 1 to 25 blue-green stems, which measure 3–38 cm (1.2–15.0 in) in length. Its leaves are oblanceolate and match the blue-green color of the stems; lower leaves grow in clusters spreading from a single point, while upper leaves are arranged alternately along the stem. It blooms in spring, from February to April. Flowers grow either solitary or in small groups at the tips of stems, and have a two-lipped corolla: the upper lip is long, narrow, and amethyst-blue, while the lower lip is domed, nearly white with blue spots, and connected to a long downward-pointing spur that is also amethyst. In total, the flowering portion of the plant makes up roughly 25% of the plant's full length. Three of its accepted subspecies have yellow coloration. There are four recognized subspecies of L. amethystea: Linaria amethystea subsp. amethystea, Linaria amethystea subsp. broussonetii, Linaria amethystea subsp. ignescens, and Linaria amethystea subsp. multipunctata. Two subspecies occur in Portugal: L. amethystea subsp. multipunctata and L. amethystea subsp. amethystea. In Spain, L. amethystea subsp. amethystea and L. amethystea subsp. ignescens are found. In Morocco and Western Sahara, L. amethystea subsp. ignescens and L. amethystea subsp. broussonetii are present. In Portugal, L. amethystea subsp. multipunctata grows in annual fields, olive groves, and fruit tree groves. It has three subpopulations in the Coimbra region, around Cadaval, and in northern Lisbon. Smaller populations have been recorded on the coast of Sintra and the Berlengas Islands. L. amethystea subsp. amethystea has a wider distribution, growing in the same habitats as L. amethystea subsp. multipunctata, and also occurs on roadsides, in clearings, and in sandy areas near the shore. It is found across Portugal, with populations in Trás-os-Montes, Beira Baixa, Alentejo, and Algarve. According to the "Lista Vermelha da Flora Vascular de Portugal Continental", both L. amethystea subsp. amethystea (Vent.) Hoffmanns. & Link and L. amethystea subsp. multipunctata (Brot.) Chater & D.A.Webb have insufficient data for classification under IUCN criteria, and are categorized as Data Deficient (DD). In Spain, L. amethystea subsp. amethystea occurs in Meseta Central, Andalusia, Extremadura, and Galicia, and is absent from eastern and southeastern parts of the country. L. amethystea subsp. ignescens is only found at the southern tip of Spain, near Cádiz.
