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blackseed plantain, plantain de Rugel, Rugel's plantain

arctic plantain, gray-pubescent plantain, Siberian plantain

Habit Perennials, sometimes annuals; caudex absent; roots fibrous, thick. Perennials; caudex usually woolly; roots taproots, thick.
Stems

0–20 mm.

0–20 mm.

Leaves

20–150 × 10–120 mm;

petiole to 200 mm;

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

ascending, 180–250 × 6–20 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate, margins entire, rarely toothed, veins conspicuous, surfaces glabrate or hairy, hairs 1 mm.

Scapes

50–250 mm, glabrous or hirsute.

50–230 mm, not groove-angled, hairy or glabrous.

Spikes

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

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

grayish or whitish, 80–350 mm, usually densely flowered, shiny;

corolla lobes of neighboring flowers often overlapping;

bracts broadly ovate, 1.8–2 mm, length 0.9–1 times sepals.

Flowers

sepals 1.5–2 mm;

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

stamens 4.

sepals 2 mm, adaxial 2 nearly distinct;

corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 2 mm, base obtuse;

stamens 4.

Fruits

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

Seeds

4 or 5(–8), 1.5–2 mm.

3–7, 1–1.8 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 12.

Plantago rugelii

Plantago canescens

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Open woods, meadows, pastures, waste places. Grassy, gravelly, and rocky slopes, cliffs.
Elevation 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.)
Distribution
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]
from FNA
AK; MT; AB; BC; NT; NU; YT; Asia
[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.)

N. N. Tzvelev (1983) recognized six subspecies (including two in North America) within Plantago canescens; North American material is not segregated as such here.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 292. FNA vol. 17, p. 285.
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. maritima, P. media, P. ovata, P. patagonica, P. pusilla, P. rhodosperma, P. sempervirens, P. sparsiflora, P. subnuda, P. tweedyi, P. virginica, P. wrightiana
P. afra, P. argyrea, P. aristata, P. australis, 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. rugelii, P. sempervirens, P. sparsiflora, P. subnuda, P. tweedyi, P. virginica, P. wrightiana
Synonyms P. septata
Name authority Decaisne: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 700. (1852) Adams: Nouv. Mém. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 9: 233, plate 13, fig. 1. (1834)
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