Cymbalaria muralis "Ivy-leaved Toadflax" Plantaginaceae (Scrophulariaceae)
Tacoma, WA
May 2013
Robert Niese
A common garden creeper, introduced from Mediterranean Europe. Very cute and very tiny (~1cm).
This plant has an unusual method of propagation. The flower stalk is initially positively phototropic and moves towards the light—after fertilization it becomes negatively phototropic and moves away from the light. This results in seed being pushed into dark crevices of rock walls, where it is more likely to germinate and where it prefers to grow.
This individual flower has, in fact, been pollinated.