Plantago maritima |
Plantago indica |
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Alaska plantain, common plantain, goose tongue, maritime plantain, plantain maritime, salt marsh plantain, sea plantain, seaside plantain |
plantain des sables, sand plantain |
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Habit | Perennials, rarely annuals; caudex absent or well developed, conspicuous, glabrous or hairy; roots taproots, thick. | Annuals; roots taproots, slender. |
Stems | 0–40 mm, usually branched. |
100–350 mm, freely branched. |
Leaves | 10–220 × (1–)10–15 mm; blade linear to lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, veins not conspicuous, surfaces glabrous, sometimes hairy. |
cauline, opposite, 60–80 × 1–3 mm; blade linear to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, veins conspicuous or not, surfaces hairy. |
Scapes | 40–120 mm, glabrous or hirsute. |
100–650 mm, hairy. |
Spikes | greenish or brownish, (15–)50–200(–290) mm, densely or loosely flowered; bracts broadly ovate, 1.5–4(–6) mm, length 0.8–1.2 times sepals. |
greenish or brownish, (50–)150–250 mm, densely flowered, eglandular; bracts proximal strongly differing from distal, ovate, 2–5(–7) mm, length 1–1.5 times sepals, proximal bracts: apex acute. |
Flowers | sepals 1.5–3.5 mm; corolla radially symmetric, tube hairy, lobes reflexed, 1–1.5 mm, base obtuse; stamens 4. |
sepals 2–3 mm; corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 2–4 mm, base obtuse; stamens 4. |
Seeds | 1–3, 1.5–3 mm. |
2, 2–2.5 mm. |
2n | = 24. |
= 12. |
Plantago maritima |
Plantago indica |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering late summer–fall. |
Habitat | Marine shorelines, crevices of large rocks in sea spray, coastal and inland salt marshes, alkaline and saline flats, roadsides. | Roadsides, railroads, sandy shorelines. |
Elevation | 0–800 m. (0–2600 ft.) | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; CT; MA; ME; NH; NJ; NY; OR; RI; VA; WA; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM; Mexico; Central America; South America; Greenland; Eurasia; Africa
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CA; CT; DE; IA; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; VA; VT; WA; WI; BC; MB; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Plantago maritima has been reported from Utah; no specimen supporting that report has been found. Since the 1930s, when Plantago maritima was shown to have high levels of phenotypic plasticity (J. W. Gregor and J. M. S. Lang 1950), it usually has been accepted in a broad sense. That approach is followed here, with all dwarf and loose-flowered forms (such as P. borealis and P. decipiens, respectively) included under this name. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
While considering the proposal made by W. L. Applequist (2006) to reject Plantago psyllium, the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants also decided that P. indica is a legitimate name (R. K. Brummitt 2009). A. B. Doweld and A. Shipunov (2017) published a proposal to reject P. indica in favor of P. arenaria. That proposal awaits a decision by that committee. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 289. | FNA vol. 17, p. 288. |
Parent taxa | Plantaginaceae > Plantago | Plantaginaceae > Plantago |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. borealis, P. decipiens, P. juncoides, P. juncoides var. californica, P. juncoides var. decipiens, P. juncoides var. glauca, P. juncoides var. laurentiana, P. maritima subsp. borealis, P. maritima var. californica, P. maritima var. decipiens, P. maritima var. glauca, P. maritima subsp. juncoides, P. maritima var. juncoides, P. oliganthos, P. oliganthos var. fallax | P. arenaria, P. psyllium |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 114. (1753) | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 2: 896. 1759, legitimacy of — name in question |
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