Plantago major (Common plantain)

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Plantago major L.

Common plantain

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Plantaginaceae	Plantains
Genus	Plantago	From Latin plantago, “footprint,” since plantains popped up where European settlers walked
Species	major	“Major” or most important

About plant names...

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:

KingdomPlantae.net

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program

Wikipedia

Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

The Oregon Flora Image Project

The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

EFloras

7/28/2009 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 13" (27 × 32 cm)

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
≈ 14 × 18" (34 × 46 cm)

Plantago intermedia Gilib.

Plantago asiatica auct. non L.

Plantago halophila E.P. Bicknell

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.

6/1/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm)

7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 17 × 16" (43 × 41 cm)

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:

About this map...