Dalmatian toad-flax is a stout, perennial weed with single, often branched stems arising 40-120 cm from spreading or creeping roots. The leaves and stems are glaucous in appearance while the numerous, firm leaves are alternately arranged on the stems. Individual leaves are lance-ovate to ovate in outline with rounded or obtuse leaf bases that are sessile and often clasping the adjacent stem. They measure about 2-5 cm long and 1-2 cm wide with entire margins.
The flowers are arranged in narrow, elongated racemes from 10-20 cm long. The flowers are on short pedicels or are nearly sessile. The calyx is 8 mm long with long, lanceolate lobes with long, tapering tips. The corollas measure 2.5-4 cm in length (including the slender spur which is nearly equal in length to the rest of the corolla) and are bright yellow with an orange-bearded palate at the base of the lower lip. The fruits are dry capsules that are broadly ovoid-cylindric in shape and measure about 7-8 mm long.
A weedy species, Dalmatian toad-flax may be found in disturbed soils in open areas including roadsides, railroad embankments, fallow fields, waste areas and gravel quarries. It is often sold as part of wildflower mixes, so is often found established in yards where it is then difficult to remove because any fibrous roots that remain will reroot and grow into new plants.
A native of the eastern Mediterranean region, Dalmatian toad-flax is now widely established across much of the Pacific Northwest on both sides of the Cascade Mts.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found between the elevations of 100'-1000' from near Crown Point in the west and eastward as far as the Klickitat River.