Perennial of the Plantaginaceae family (formerly Scrophulariaceae), endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and southern France, where it grows on sands, dry lawns, open garrigues, and poor siliceous soils, in full light, often at low altitude.
The plant forms slender and upright tufts from 15 to 30 cm, with thin stems bearing linear, narrow, glaucous green leaves, sparsely arranged. The flowers, with a typically linarioid structure with two well-marked lips and an elongated and curved spur, have a remarkable coloration: purple-red to dark violet, with darker veins on the palate and a contrasting throat. The spur, particularly thin and curved, is one of the most distinctive features of the species.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July.
Its epithet aeruginea, which evokes the color of oxidized copper, probably refers to the particular reflections of its flowers depending on the light. It is cultivated in full sun, in very well-drained, sandy or gravelly, poor soil; it does not tolerate prolonged humidity well. A plant of character for dry rock gardens and Mediterranean gravel gardens.