PLANTAGO MAJOR subsp. MAJOR

Family and Genus:- See- PLANTAGINACEAE/Subgen. PLANTAGO

Common Names:- Greater plantain

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Plantago (L) Foot-sole-like, (reference to the way the leaves lie flat

on the ground).

Major (L) Larger, greater, bigger.

Plant:- Perennial with one or few rosettes

Leaves:-

1) (1·5-)5-30(-40) x (0·5-)3-10(-15) cm;

a) lamina, ovate to elliptical, entire or irregularly dentate, 5- to 9-veined,

± cordate at the base, thick, dark green, glabrescent.

2) Petiole, as long as the lamina or shorter.

Flower:-

1) Scapes, equalling or exceeding the leaves, striate or terete, with short,

appressed or ascending hairs.

2) Spikes, narrowed above; as long as or shorter than rest of the scape, dense.

3) Bracts, 1-2 mm, ovate, glabrous.

4) Sepals, 1·5-2·5 mm, subequal, glabrous, green, with scarious margins.

5) Corolla-tube, c. 2 mm, glabrous;

a) lobes, c. 1 mm, lanceolate to ovate, subobtuse, glabrous.

5) Stamens, exserted, 2-3 mm.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, 2-4 mm.

2) Seeds, (4-)6-10(-13). mm, ellipsoid or ellipsoid-trigonous.

Key features:-

1) Bracts, more than half as long as sepals.

2) Seeds, (4-)6-10(-13). mm, ellipsoid or ellipsoid-trigonous.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Seasonally damp, often trampled ruderalised habitats. 0-1300 m.

Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean. Limited distribution

across Crete, known from only a few locations in the centre and west.

Flowering time:- Apr-Aug.

Photos by:- Kind permission of Saxifraga - Free Nature Images