Antirrhinum controversum is a species of perennial flowering plant in the genus Antirrhinum (common snapdragons) in the family Plantaginaceae. Native to southeastern and southern Spain, Portugal, and northern Morocco, it is a subshrub that favors subtropical biomes. The species produces stems that grow between 35 cm (14 in) and 150 cm (59 in) tall. Growing, flowering, and fruiting between February and November within its native range, the plant produces dense inflorescences of ten to 40 pale-pink flowers at the end of each stem.
Antirrhinum controversum is a perennial herbaceous plant species in the genus Antirrhinum (common snapdragons) of the family Plantaginaceae. The overall forms of A. controversum plants are that of subshrubs.[1] Plants in the species produce thick aerial stems that reach between 35 cm (14 in) and 150 cm (59 in) tall. Leaves grow in a mostly alternating pattern on the stems. These leaves are lanceolate in shape, with the typical Antirrhinum coloring of green on their topsides and purple on their bottoms, and measure between 6 mm (0.24 in) and 40 mm (1.6 in) long and between 0.5 mm (0.020 in) and 6 mm (0.24 in) wide.
The inflorescences on Antirrhinum grow at the terminuses of the stems. On A. controversum, ten to 40 flowers densely populate each inflorescence. The flowers are attached to the stem on pedicels measuring between 1 mm (0.039 in) and 3 mm (0.12 in) long and are arranged in an alternating pattern. The flowers are postured in an erect position. The entire structure of each flower (corolla) measures 16 mm (0.63 in) to 24 mm (0.94 in) in diameter. The flowers are colored pale pink, with a white base on the tubular portion attached to the pedicel. Purple veins are also present. The growth period that includes flowering and fruiting occurs between February and November within the species's native range.[
Fruiting produces oblong-ovoid capsules that measure 6 mm (0.24 in) to 9 mm (0.35 in) long and 4 m (160 in) to 5 mm (0.20 in) wide. These capsules have woody walls with glandular hairs that can measure up to 0.6 mm (0.024 in) long. The seeds are black and oblong-ovoid in shape, measuring between 0.6 mm (0.024 in) and 0.8 mm (0.031 in) long.
Within Antirrhinum, hybridization between species is frequent. Standard A. controversum plants are morphologically similar to typical A. australe plants, with naturally occurring hybridizations between the two species compounding the difficulty of distinguishing between them.
