genus Plantago
Member of
plantain family (family Plantaginaceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)
Except for historical records that I'm ignoring, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.
Caution: The key to distinguish these species is not complete.
The key features in Jepson tend to be unobservable things like seed characteristics, annual vs. perennial, etc. Other features include tiny features of the tiny flowers, so very close focus and perhaps plucking a flower may be necessary. Due to the difficulty in identifying useful distinguishing features, I’ve punted for now. Check Jepson for anything new.
Within an inflorescence, each flower has:
Flowers mature from bottom to top within an inflorescence. The younger flowers above have green sepals and a feathery stigma, but no stamens. Flowers in the middle have dry, brown sepals and each have four stamens with anthers. The oldest flowers below have dry, crinkled sepals and no stigma or stamens.
Key features:
coastal plantain
Plantago elongata
greater plantain
Plantago major
chilean plantain
Plantago firma
4 observed taxons / 5 unobserved taxons / 1 key
Locations: Months: For more details, use advanced search.
Chris’s observations: 65 (57 are research grade)
Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora – FNA
Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora
