It is an annual that occurs in SE Canada and NE USA on dunes and sandy soils. One ecological difference of Nutallanthus from the genus Linaria is that its seeds are small enough to be wind- borne 15 . Its forte is rapid increase and spread on summer moist sites that have little competition, and resistance to cultural and chemical controls. Yellow toadflax is widespread in Canada, particularly in the west on cultivated black and dark brown soils. It is a problem in grasslands on coarse soils with 46 to 51 cm of annual precipitation, which includes the Cypress Hills, North Battleford, and Peace River regions.
Cattle avoid it in pastures so forage within infestations is unused.
Yellow toadflax is an overwintering host for the cucumber mosaic virus and the broad bean wilt virus and it is a primary noxious species under the Canada Seed Act 1986 and listed by Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Yellow toadflax is resistant to most herbicides and its presence on crop land precludes zero or minimum till and shortens the rotation of perennial crops. Mowing reduces seed production without achieving control. Yellow toadflax is a difficult target for biocontrol. Much of the problem is on cultivated land, where cropping practices disrupt insect life cycles and cultivation discourages mycorrhizal fungi 7 which probably makes the roots less nutritious for insects.