Plantago major |
Plantago aristata |
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common plantain, great plantain, nippleseed, plantain majeur |
bottlebrush indianwheat, bract plantain, bristly plantain, large bract plantain |
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Habit | Perennials, sometimes annuals; caudex absent; roots fibrous, thick. | Annuals; roots taproots, slender. |
Stems | 0–20 mm. |
20–40 mm. |
Leaves | 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. |
30–200 × 3–7 mm; blade linear or narrowly lanceolate, margins entire, rarely toothed, veins conspicuous or not, abaxial surface villous, adaxial glabrous or sparsely villous. |
Scapes | 50–250(–500) mm, surpassing leaves or not, glabrous or hirsute. |
100–500 mm, hairy, hairs antrorse, long and short. |
Spikes | brownish or greenish, (20–)50–300(–400) mm, densely flowered; bracts lanceolate, 0.5–1 mm, length 0.3–0.7 times sepals. |
greenish or brownish, 80–150 mm, densely flowered, flowers in whorls or pairs; bracts almost linear, 15–30 mm, length 2–12 times sepals. |
Flowers | sepals 1.5–2 mm; corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 0.5–1 mm, base obtuse; stamens 4. |
sepals 2.7–3.7 mm; corolla bilaterally symmetric, lobes reflexed, adaxials 1.4–2.3 mm, laterals symmetric, base deeply cordate; stamens 4, connective elongated, apex acute. |
Fruits | (2–)4–5 mm, dehiscing at middle. |
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Seeds | 5–35, 0.5–1 mm. |
2, 2.5–2.9 mm. |
2n | = 12. |
= 20. |
Plantago major |
Plantago aristata |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering spring–fall. |
Habitat | Roadsides, trails, stream banks, urban areas, lawns, other disturbed areas. | Roadsides, pastures, disturbed ground. |
Elevation | 0–3000 m. [0–9800 ft.] | 0–700 m. [0–2300 ft.] |
Distribution |
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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AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; NS; ON [Introduced in Central America, Europe, Asia]
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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.) |
Plantago aristata is similar to P. patagonica; the latter is distinguished by its dense, villous indument. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 289. | FNA vol. 17, p. 284. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. major var. pachyphylla, P. major var. pilgeri, P. major var. scopulorum | P. patagonica var. aristata, P. purshii var. aristata |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 112. (1753) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 95. (1803) |
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