Plantago major L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Plantaginaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Plantago major L.

  • Description

    Species Description - Acaulescent herb. Leaf blades 15-25 x 6-10 cm, ovate to widely elliptic, chartaceous, glabrous, the apex obtuse, the base narrowed, the margins coarsely dentate; petioles 2-20 cm long Flowers white, congested in numerous scapose spikes; axes 5-25 cm long; bracts green, ovate, ca. 1 mm long. Calyx of 4 nearly equal, 1.2-2 mm long, oblong sepals; corolla 2 mm long, with spreading lobes. Capsule ovoid, 2.5-4 mm long, straw-colored, with 15-20 wedge-shaped seeds, 0.8-0.9 mm long.

  • Distribution

    Very uncommon on St. John, found in wet moist areas Road to Bordeaux Mountain (W471). Also on St. Croix and Tortola; a cosmopolitan weed.

    Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|