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California plantain, dotseed plantain, erect dwarf plantain

common plantain, great plantain, nippleseed, plantain majeur

Habit Annuals; roots taproots, slender. Perennials, sometimes annuals; caudex absent; roots fibrous, thick.
Stems

0–10 mm.

0–20 mm.

Leaves

50–120 × 1–4 mm;

blade linear, margins entire or toothed, veins conspicuous or not, surfaces villous or lanate, rarely glabrate.

20–150(–400) × 10–120(–170) mm;

petiole to 200 mm;

blade ovate to cordate-ovate, margins entire or toothed, veins conspicuous, surfaces glabrous or hirsute.

Scapes

200–1500 mm, hairy, hairs antrorse, long and short.

50–250(–500) mm, surpassing leaves or not, glabrous or hirsute.

Spikes

greenish or brownish, 70–150 mm, densely flowered, flowers in whorls or pairs;

bracts ovate, 1–2 mm, length 0.3–0.8 times sepals.

brownish or greenish, (20–)50–300(–400) mm, densely flowered;

bracts lanceolate, 0.5–1 mm, length 0.3–0.7 times sepals.

Flowers

sepals 2.5–3.4 mm;

corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 2–2.7 mm, base obtuse or slightly cordate;

stamens 4, connective elongated, apex acute.

sepals 1.5–2 mm;

corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 0.5–1 mm, base obtuse;

stamens 4.

Fruits

(2–)4–5 mm, dehiscing at middle.

Seeds

2, 2.1–2.9 mm.

5–35, 0.5–1 mm.

2n

= 20.

= 12.

Plantago erecta

Plantago major

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering summer.
Habitat Dunes, grassy hills and flats, clearings in woods. Roadsides, trails, stream banks, urban areas, lawns, other disturbed areas.
Elevation -50–1400 m. (-200–4600 ft.) 0–3000 m. (0–9800 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Greenland; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies intermedia (Gilibert) Lange is often accepted by European botanists as a separate species, Plantago uliginosa F. W. Schmidt. Observations suggest that plants referable to this taxon may occur in the United States; it has been reported from the New England states (A. Haines 2011). Subspecies intermedia is distinguished by more abundant (11–35) and smaller (0.8–1 mm) seeds, ascending spikes, ovoid fruits, and elliptic or lanceolate leaf blades. Without detailed morphologic and genetic investigations of North American plants similar to the study of European plants by M. Morgan-Richards and K. Wolff (1999), it is not possible to draw any conclusions about the status and distribution of this or any other possible infraspecific taxa of P. major in North America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 286. FNA vol. 17, p. 289.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Plantago Plantaginaceae > Plantago
Sibling taxa
P. afra, P. argyrea, P. aristata, P. australis, P. canescens, P. cordata, P. coronopus, P. elongata, P. eriopoda, P. firma, P. floccosa, P. helleri, P. heterophylla, P. hookeriana, P. indica, P. lanceolata, P. macrocarpa, P. major, P. maritima, P. media, P. ovata, P. patagonica, P. pusilla, P. rhodosperma, P. rugelii, P. sempervirens, P. sparsiflora, P. subnuda, P. tweedyi, P. virginica, P. wrightiana
P. afra, P. argyrea, P. aristata, P. australis, P. canescens, P. cordata, P. coronopus, P. elongata, P. erecta, P. eriopoda, P. firma, P. floccosa, P. helleri, P. heterophylla, P. hookeriana, P. indica, P. lanceolata, P. macrocarpa, P. maritima, P. media, P. ovata, P. patagonica, P. pusilla, P. rhodosperma, P. rugelii, P. sempervirens, P. sparsiflora, P. subnuda, P. tweedyi, P. virginica, P. wrightiana
Synonyms P. patagonica var. californica, P. erecta subsp. rigidior, P. hookeriana var. californica P. major var. pachyphylla, P. major var. pilgeri, P. major var. scopulorum
Name authority E. Morris: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 27: 118. (1900) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 112. (1753)
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