Linaria alpina ssp filicaulis

Short-lived perennial, perpetuating itself by spontaneous reseeding, from the Plantaginaceae family. This subspecies is present in the Cantabrian Mountains and the limestone massifs of the north of the Iberian Peninsula, including the Picos de Europa, where it occupies limestone scree, moraines, and open rocky areas at altitude, generally between 1,800 and 2,600 meters, in full light and on very well-drained substrates.

It forms spreading, dense, and very flowery clumps, 5 to 15 cm in height, with slender stems — precisely suggested by the epithet filicaulis — bearing small, linear, glaucous, fleshy leaves. The flowers, produced in remarkable abundance, are a delicate lilac-pink to pinkish-lilac, with a bright and luminous yellow-orange palate, which distinctly sets them apart from the violet-purple and orange characteristic of the type subspecies.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from July to September depending on the altitude.

In cultivation, it requires full sun, a calcareous, gravelly, very permeable soil, and a warm exposure. It readily reseeds itself in the crevices of rock gardens. Winter stagnation is fatal to it.