Plantago erecta |
Plantago major |
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California plantain, dotseed plantain, erect dwarf plantain |
common plantain, great plantain, nippleseed, plantain majeur |
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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. |
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Seeds | 2, 2.1–2.9 mm. |
5–35, 0.5–1 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 12. |
Plantago erecta |
Plantago major |
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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 |
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
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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]
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 286. | FNA vol. 17, p. 289. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Plantago | Plantaginaceae > Plantago |
Sibling taxa | ||
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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