Plantago lanceolata L.

English plantain, ribwort plantain

About plant names...

English plantain is a European native, found in Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, and northern and central Asia. It is naturalized in North America, and common in lawns, as well as prairies, roadsides, and plains.

Plants: Plants are 6-24" (15-60 cm) tall, with bare, ridged stems.

Leaves: Leaves are in the form of a basal rosette, with ascending, smooth-edged, narrowly elliptic or narrowly oval leaves 4-16" (10-40 cm) long. Leaves have three or more parallel nerves.

Flowers: An oval structure ½-3" (1.3-7.6 cm) tall atop each stem is festooned with tiny white flowers ⅛" (3.2 mm) in size. The flowers form a ring of diminutive blooms that begins at the bottom of the oval and works upward, appearing from Apr-Aug.

Fruits: Fruits are ¹/₁₆-⅛" (3-4 mm) in size, splitting open when dry.

Edibility: Young leaves are edible raw or cooked, though bitter and very fibrous. Seeds may be ground and added to flour.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

ARKive: Images of Life on Earth

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

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 360

9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 3½ × 4½" (8.6 × 12 cm)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine

5/31/2010 · Mt. Lebanon St., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 16 × 24" (41 × 62 cm)

7/12/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

7/12/2013 · Wooden Bridge, East Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 6" (11 × 14 cm)

6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine

6/10/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 2 × 3½" (6 × 9.6 cm)

8/7/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Land, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 7" (14 × 18 cm)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

4/21/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 12 × 9" (29 × 22 cm)

7/20/2023 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine

Plantago lanceolata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Jul 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

6/17/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 5" (9.5 × 13 cm)

8/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm)

6/10/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 2½ × 4" (6.7 × 10 cm)

6/20/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 5" (9.2 × 13 cm)

8/2/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 4½" (11 × 12 cm)

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 3½" (8.1 × 9.1 cm)

7/3/2023 · Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Penn­syl­vania

5/31/2010 · Mt. Lebanon St., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 4" (10 × 11 cm)

7/31/2021 · Otter Brook Preserve, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 6 × 8" (15 × 21 cm)

7/7/2012 · Gibbet Hill, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

5/31/2010 · Mt. Lebanon St., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 3" (7.9 × 8.3 cm)

Range: Zones 5-9:

About this map...