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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE PLANTAIN FAMILY | |||||||||
| The plantain family is widely distributed in temperate regions, especially in saline or dry areas. These plants are annual or perennial herbs. The leaves are frequently in basal rosettes, though they may also be alternate on short stems. The leaves have parallel veins and are often prominently ribbed. The flowers are usually in long spike-like clusters, though occasionally they may be in head-like clusters. The flowers are whitish or greenish and are generally membranous in texture. The petals are fused into a slender tube and have flattened limbs at the top. Each flower may have two or four stamens and a superior ovary. The fruit is a capsule that opens like from the top like a lid. | |||||||||
| WOOLLY PLANTAIN | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Plantago patagonica var. spinulosa | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Woolly plantain grows to heights of up to 20 cm. The stem is absent or only 1 to 4 cm long. All of the leaves are basal and upward pointing. The leaves are linear, woolly-hairy, and narrowed to a stalk at the base. The tips are often hardened. The inflorescence stalks are up to 20 cm long and end in a dense, silvery-hairy spike. At the end of the flowering season, the spikes dry and turn brown. The bracts below each flower are longer than the sepals and are woolly hairy and awn-tipped. The sepals and petals are greenish. Each flower has four stamens. The fruit is a capsule. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Woolly plantain grows in eroded grasslands and drying mudflats. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Woolly plantain is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon. This species is only somewhat regionally restricted and local population sizes vary from large to small. No immediate threats to this species are known. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WOOLLY PLANTAIN | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves linear? * Is the plant densely woolly-hairy? * Are the flowers greenish to whitish? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found woolly plantain! | |||||||||
