Plantaginaceae
Plantago

Plantago coronopus L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 115 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Europe to Central Asia and W. Pakistan, Macaronesia to Arabian Peninsula. It is a biennial or perennial and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2014) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 2: Lythraceae to Campanulaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herb (annual in Iraq), acaulous, 3–12(–17) cm tall, glabrous to pilose or unusually hirsute
Morphology Leaves
Leaves oblong to linear in outline, 2–14 cm, entire, remotely lobed or mostly pinnatisect, the lobes 2–15 mm, linear or oblong, acute
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spike usually shorter than leaves, oblong-cylindrical, 1.5–4(–8) cm; bracts equalling or shorter and smaller than calyx, usually glabrous, herbaceous with narrow scarious lateral lamina, margin ciliate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 3–3.5 mm, the two anterior sepals similar to bracts, the two posterior sepals glabrous, scarious except for herbaceous keeled midrib
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla lobes glabrous, lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, tube hirsute
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds ovoid, with membranous, mucilaginous margin.
Note
The main distinguishing characters for this species are the bracts that are equalling or smaller than calyx, posterior sepals with well keeled midribs, and a hairy corolla tube. The species shows much variation in the indumentum, leaf margin (entire, dentate or well lobed), length, thickness and number of spikes, the ratio of length of bract to calyx, apex of bract and the width of midrib of the anterior sepals.
Ecology
Sandy and loamy desert, alluvial land, gravel desert, by roadsides and deciduous orchards on loamy soil, slightly saline alluvial flats near edges of lakes, limestone desert plateau with sandy patches between rocks, river banks and islands; alt.: 150–550 m
Phenology
Flowering and fruiting: Mar. –Apr.
Distribution
Frequent in the Lower Mesopotamian Region, less frequent in upper part of the Desert Plateau Region; rarely found in the Upper Plains and Foothills Region. Europe and Mediterranean region, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan.
[FIQ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164519/5902240

Conservation
VU - vulnerable
[IUCN]

Uses

Use
A fodder plant, grazed by sheep, camels and water-buffaloes. anaik (recorded by Blakelock, loc.cit.).
[FIQ]

Common Names

English
Buck's-horn Plantain

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images