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blackseed plantain, plantain de Rugel, Rugel's plantain

floccose plantain

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

0–20 mm.

0–30 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.

50–220 × 9–60 mm;

blade elliptic to narrowly elliptic, margins with inconspicuous teeth, veins conspicuous, surfaces hairy, adaxial surface hairs floccose, slender, 4–6 × 0.01–0.03 mm.

Scapes

50–250 mm, glabrous or hirsute.

55–220 mm, lanate, hairs variously directed, long.

Spikes

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

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

greenish or brownish, 200–500 mm, densely flowered, flowers less crowded proximally;

bracts narrowly triangular or triangular, 2–2.8 mm, lengths 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 1.9–2.7 mm;

corolla radially symmetric, lobes erect, forming a beak, 2–2.9 mm, base obtuse;

stamens 4.

Fruits

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

Seeds

4 or 5(–8), 1.5–2 mm.

3, 1.8–2.4 mm.

2n

= 24.

Plantago rugelii

Plantago floccosa

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Open woods, meadows, pastures, waste places. Roadsides.
Elevation 0–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) 0–300 m. (0–1000 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
FL; Mexico (Hidalgo, México, Querétaro, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Veracruz) [Introduced in North America]
[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.)

According to J. Burkhalter (pers. comm.), Plantago floccosa is well established in northwestern Florida near the border with Alabama.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 292. FNA vol. 17, p. 287.
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. canescens, P. cordata, P. coronopus, P. elongata, P. erecta, P. eriopoda, P. firma, 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
Name authority Decaisne: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 700. (1852) Decaisne: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 723. (1852)
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