NameThatPlant.net: Plantago major

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae Go to FSUS key

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.

Read more about Common Plantain at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17 (2019)

Plantago major

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 172-01-002:

Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Plantago major

COMMON NAME:
Common Plantain, White-man's-foot

To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Plantago major, Common Plantain, White-man's-foot

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_plma2_001_lvd

Keith Bradley kab_plantago_major_71750

June Miami-Dade County FL

Everglades National Park

Scape solid, terete, erect. Spike 4-22cm long, dense in flower and fruit, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

JK Marlow jkm060813_314

August Haywood County NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

Lvs glabrous to very pubescent, petioles green (rarely w slight purple tinge), per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

COMPARE Mousetail and Plantain

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17
Plantago major

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 172-01-002:
Plantago major FAMILY Plantaginaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Plantago major

1100

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: Lawns, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Europe /possibly native to northeast US

Uncommon (rare in GA Mountains)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Spikes brownish or green; flowers greenish-white
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
4-lobed corolla
4 well exserted stamens
Superior ovary

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule dehiscing circumscissily

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!

"We treasure pictures and sculpture. We regard Attic temples and Roman triumphal arches and Gothic cathedrals as of priceless value. But we are, as a whole, still in that low state of civilization where we do not understand that it is also vandalism wantonly to destroy or permit the destruction of what is beautiful in nature, whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species of mammal or bird. Here in the United States we turn our rivers and streams into sewers and dumping-grounds, we pollute the air, we destroy forests and exterminate fishes, birds and mammals — not to speak of vulgarizing charming landscapes with hideous advertisements." — Theodore Roosevelt

If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".

Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".