|
Plantago major L. Common plantain
This native of much of Europe and Asia has since spread worldwide, where it is a very common weed. Native americans, observing it for the first time after Europeans came to the Americas, called it "white man's footprint" or "Englishman's foot." Identification: Plants have a rosette of low-lying oval leaves, each 1¾-8″ (5-20 cm) long and 1½-3½″ (4-9 cm) wide. It produces stalks 6-18″ (15-45 cm) tall, with inconspicuous greenish white flowers along the entire length. The tall stalks are the most noticeable feature of the plant. The flowers become small green seedpods about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) long, containing 10-20 tiny seeds. Plantain grows in virtually any soil, inhabiting spaces no sensible plant would dare approach, such as heavily trodden sand parking lots. Edibility: The young leaves are edible. Remove the fibrous strands before using them on salads. Blanching (brief immersion in boiling water) softens them a bit. Online References:
Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness The Oregon Flora Image Project The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network
7/28/2009 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts
8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine
6/22/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 13 cm)
8/1/2009 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 2′ (47 × 70 cm) Plantago asiatica auct. non L. Plantago halophila E.P. Bicknell Plantago intermedia Gilib. Plantago major L. var. asiatica auct. non (L.) Decne. Plantago major L. var. intermedia (DC.) Pilg. Plantago major L. ssp. intermedia (DC.) Arcang. Plantago major L. var. pachyphylla Pilg. Plantago major L. var. pilgeri Domin Plantago major L. var. scopulorum Fr. & Broberg
Plantago major description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Sep 2023.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved. |
6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm)
Located beside saltwater, this may be the intermedia subspecies. · 9/18/2016 · Deer Isle, at Water’s Edge
Located beside saltwater, this may be the intermedia subspecies. · 9/18/2016 · Deer Isle, at Water’s Edge
9/10/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 20 cm)
8/22/2023 · Schiller Coastal Studies Center, Orr’s Island, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) Range:
|
