Species: Plantago patagonica var. spinulosa (Dcne.) Gray

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Plantago patagonica var. spinulosa (Dcne.) Gray

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Plantaginaceae

Genus:

Plantago

Species Synonyms:

Plantago spinulosa Dcne.
Plantago purshii R.& S. var. spinulosa(Dcne.) Shinners
Plantago aristata auct. non Michx.
Plantago patagonica var. aristata auct. non (Michx.) Gray

Common Names:

woolly Indianwheat, wolly plantain, spinulose-bracted plantain

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

western British Columbia – southwestern Yukon Territory, Great Bear Lake region, northwestern Alberta, east-central Saskatchewan – west-central Manitoba, Hudson Bay Coast, Labrador – Newfoundland – Quebec – Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan:

east-central Saskatchewan; Nietenai River Salt Marshes

Ecoregion:

Mid-Boreal Lowland

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

eroded grasslands and drying mudflats

Associated Species:

seaside arrowgrass

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Threatened

Nature Conservancy Status:

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

Woolly plantain is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species is only somewhat regionally restricted and local population sizes vary. No immediate threats to this species are known.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

5 – 20 cm

Roots:

taproots terminated in a crown or short persistent stem

Stems:

annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial; stem absent or 1 – 4 cm long, woolly villous

Leaves:

principal leaves basal, ascending, 2 – 15 cm long, 1 – 7 mm wide, linear, apex hardened, narrowed to a slender stalk, 1 – 3-veined, woolly hairy

Inflorescence:

spikes dense, 5 – 10 cm long, obtuse, silvery-hairy, drying brownish; bracts much longer than the sepals, conspicuous, linear, woolly-hairy, awn-tipped, margin narrowly dry and membranous; inflorescence stalks 1 – 20, 2 – 20 cm long

Flowers:

sepals 1.5 – 2.5 mm long, spoon-shaped, margin dry and membranous; petals irregular, 1 – 2 mm long, round to oval; stamens 4, exceeding petals or included

Fruits:

capsule opening like a lid at or below middle, 3 – 4 mm long; seeds 2, reddish-tan

PLANTAGO KEY FOR SPECIES FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN

1 Leaves linear, blades and stalks not well-differentiated	2
1 Leaves oval, lance-shaped, elliptic or inversely lance-shaped, stalks and blades well-differentiated	5

2 Bracts of spike very conspicuous, awn-tipped	P. patagonica var. spinulosa
2 Bracts somewhat inconspicuous, generally shorter than the flowers, not awn-tipped	3

3 Corolla tube hairy	P. maritima var. juncoides
3 Corolla tube hairless	4

4 Leaves and spikes densely white woolly; leaves linear, greater than 1 mm wide; stamens 4	P. patagonica var. patagonica
4 Leaves and spikes hairless or nearly so; leaves thread-like, about 1 mm wide; stamens 2	P. elongata ssp. elongata

5 Leaves lance-shaped to elliptic or inversely lance-shaped, margin entire or sparsely toothed; sepals apparently 3 (2 united with a double midvein	P. lanceolata
5 Leaves oval, margin wavy to coarsely toothed; sepals 4	6

6 Petal lobes less than 1 mm long; seeds up to 30; leaf blade abruptly tapering to a narrow stalk, blades on the ground	P. major
6 Petal lobes greater than 1 mm long; seeds at most 4; leaf blade gradually tapering to a stalk, blades ascending	P. eriopoda