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slender plantain

blackseed plantain, plantain de Rugel, Rugel's plantain

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

0–10 mm.

0–20 mm.

Leaves

30–80 × 1–4 mm;

blade linear, margins lobed, rarely entire, veins conspicuous or not, surfaces hairy, sometimes glabrous.

20–150 × 10–120 mm;

petiole to 200 mm;

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

Scapes

5–60 mm, hairy, sometimes glabrous.

50–250 mm, glabrous or hirsute.

Spikes

greenish or brownish, 50–150 mm, loosely or densely flowered;

bracts ovate, 2 mm, length 0.9–1.1 times sepals.

brownish or greenish, 50–300 mm, densely or loosely flowered;

bracts narrowly lanceolate, 2 mm, length 1–1.2 times sepals.

Flowers

sepals 2 mm;

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

stamens 2.

sepals 1.5–2 mm;

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

stamens 4.

Fruits

4–6(–8) mm, dehiscing proximal to middle.

Seeds

10–25(–30), 0.5–0.8 mm.

4 or 5(–8), 1.5–2 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 24.

Plantago heterophylla

Plantago rugelii

Phenology Flowering spring–early summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Moist sandy soils. Open woods, meadows, pastures, waste places.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; IL; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA [Introduced in South America (Argentina)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Plants of Plantago major and P. rugelii are morphologically indistinguishable when young; they may be differentiated with certainty only at fruiting stage. DNA sequence data (A. Shipunov et al. 2014) confirm that the two species are distinct: P. rugelii is different from P. major by 11 substitutions in the ITS2 sequence.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 287. FNA vol. 17, p. 292.
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. erecta, P. eriopoda, P. firma, P. floccosa, P. helleri, 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. major, P. maritima, P. media, P. ovata, P. patagonica, P. pusilla, P. rhodosperma, P. sempervirens, P. sparsiflora, P. subnuda, P. tweedyi, P. virginica, P. wrightiana
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n.s. 5: 177. (1835) Decaisne: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 700. (1852)
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