SPECIES DESCRIPTION
PLANTAGO CORONOPUS
Including:- Subsp. weldenii. Often regarded as a separate species under the
name of P. weldenii, but differences between P. weldenii and the partly sympatric
but mainly C & W European P. coronopus s. str. are weak and quantitative. 1)
1) Arne Strid "Atlas of the Aegean Flora". Book 1 2016
Family and Genus:- See- PLANTAGINACEAE/Subgen. PLANTAGO
Common Names:- Buck's-horn plantain
Homotypic Synonyms:- P. weldenii ssp. weldenii
Meaning:- Plantago (L) Foot-sole-like, (reference to the way the leaves lie flat on
the ground).
Coronopus (Gr) A name used by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus
for crowfoot, (the leaf-shape)
General description:- Low annual, with a solitary or several leaf-rosettes.
Leaves:-
1) 3-20 x 0·5-2 cm, linear to lanceolate. dentate to 1- to 2-lobed but not pinnatifid.
rarely entire, subglabrous or shortly hairy on both surfaces.
a) lobes, entire or dentate, more or less distant.
Flowers:-
1) Scapes, numerous, shorter than or exceeding the leaves, arcuate-ascending.
2) Flowers, yellowish-brown, 3mm, borne in long spikes 2-5 x 0·5 cm.
3) Bracts, ovate, subacute, or abruptly or slightly acuminate.
a) keel, wide, thickened.
4) Posterior sepals, with weakly ciliate wing.
5) Anthers, pale yellow.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule 3-locular.
2) Seeds, 3-6, c. 1 mm.
Key features:-
1) Leaves, 1- to 2-pinnatifid or dentate or entire with a few, small, irregular teeth.
2) Ovules, 3-5.
3) Stock, not or scarcely branched, with a solitary rosette.
4) Capsule, 3-locular.
5) Corolla-lobes, c. 1 mm.
6) Spikes, c. 0·5 cm wide, dense.
Habitat:- Often in saline coastal habitats, but also inland to 1100 m. (occasionally
higher in dolines).
Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - C & E Mediterranean region. Widespread and
common on Crete.
Flowering time:- Apr-June
Photos by:- Steve Lenton.
