See text Maurandya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Mexico and the south west United States (from California to central Texas).

The more-or-less triangular sepals are not joined together but jointly form an urn-shaped structure around the base of the flower.

[2] Maurandya scandens was the first species of the genus to be described for science, by Antonio José Cavanilles in 1793, based on plants being grown in Spain.

[3] The generic name Maurandya honours Catherina Pancratia Maurandy, the wife of a Spanish professor of botany, described by Ortega as the partner (socia) of his botanical labours.

[10] A number of molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that subtribe Maurandyinae, defined by Elisen to consist of the five North American genera Holmgrenanthe, Lophospermum, Mabrya, Maurandya and Rhodochiton, forms a monophyletic group, which is related to the Old World genera Cymbalaria and Asarina.

[11] Vargas et al. presented the following cladogram in 2013:[12] other clades Asarina Cymbalaria Maurandya (including M. antirrhiniflora) Rhodochiton Lophospermum Mabrya Vargas et al. concluded that the Antirrhineae evolved in the Old World and subsequently colonized North America more than once, probably in the Miocene epoch (23 to 5 million years ago).

This has been rejected by Elisens in his monograph on the subtribe to which Maurandya belongs, on the grounds that the overall similarities "indicate a close relationship among the four species".

The most widespread, M. antirrhiniflora, occurs in a wide range of habitats, from sandy coastal soils to calcareous rocky areas and from sea level to 2,600 m (8,500 ft).

[23] Maurandya antirrhiniflora and M. barclayana are known to be pollinated by long-tongued bees, defined as those with tongues more than 6 mm (0.2 in) long.

Species pollinated in this way typically have white, blue or violet flowers with floral tubes around 13–35 mm (0.5–1.4 in) long.

Cultivated species of Maurandya have shorter flowers than those of Lophospermum and leaves with entire rather than toothed margins.

In frost-free climates, or where the roots can be protected from frost, plants may be perennial, regrowing from the base after dying back in the winter.