Plantago pusilla
Plantago major
dwarf plantain, little plantain, woolly indianwheat, woolly plantain
common plantain, great plantain, nippleseed, plantain majeur
0–5 mm.
0–20 mm.
20–70 × 1–2 mm;
blade linear, margins entire, sometimes toothed, veins conspicuous or not, surfaces hairy or glabrous.
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.
15–60 mm, hairy, sometimes glabrous.
50–250(–500) mm, surpassing leaves or not, glabrous or hirsute.
greenish or brownish, 20–100 mm, loosely or densely flowered;
bracts triangular-ovate, 1.5–2 mm, length 0.9–1.1 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.
sepals 1.5–2 mm;
corolla radially symmetric, lobes erect, forming a beak, 0.5 mm, base obtuse;
stamens 2.
sepals 1.5–2 mm;
corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 0.5–1 mm, base obtuse;
stamens 4.
(2–)4–5 mm, dehiscing at middle.
4, 0.8–1.3 mm.
5–35, 0.5–1 mm.
= 12.
= 12.
Plantago pusilla
Plantago major
Plantago pusilla is considered to be introduced in Oregon and Washington, and possibly in California.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
- Local floras:
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras:
BC, CA, OR, WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity,
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
