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Alaska plantain, common plantain, goose tongue, maritime plantain, plantain maritime, salt marsh plantain, sea plantain, seaside plantain

blackseed plantain, plantain de Rugel, Rugel's plantain

Habit Perennials, rarely annuals; caudex absent or well developed, conspicuous, glabrous or hairy; roots taproots, thick. Perennials, sometimes annuals; caudex absent; roots fibrous, thick.
Stems

0–40 mm, usually branched.

0–20 mm.

Leaves

10–220 × (1–)10–15 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, veins not conspicuous, surfaces glabrous, sometimes hairy.

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

40–120 mm, glabrous or hirsute.

50–250 mm, glabrous or hirsute.

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.

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

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

Flowers

sepals 1.5–3.5 mm;

corolla radially symmetric, tube hairy, lobes reflexed, 1–1.5 mm, base obtuse;

stamens 4.

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

1–3, 1.5–3 mm.

4 or 5(–8), 1.5–2 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Plantago maritima

Plantago rugelii

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Marine shorelines, crevices of large rocks in sea spray, coastal and inland salt marshes, alkaline and saline flats, roadsides. Open woods, meadows, pastures, waste places.
Elevation 0–800 m. (0–2600 ft.) 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
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
[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

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.)

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. 289. 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. heterophylla, P. hookeriana, P. indica, P. lanceolata, P. macrocarpa, P. major, 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
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
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 114. (1753) Decaisne: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 700. (1852)
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