- Plantago
Key to the species of Plantago
1Leaves opposite on elongated branched stems; plant with glandular hairsPlantago arenaria 1Leaves all in a basal rosette; plant almost glabrous or with eglandular hairs2 2Flowers usually cleistogamous; corolla-lobes erect, rarely spreading, imbricate or valvate, persistent; anthers not exserted3 2Flowers chasmogamous; corolla-lobes spreading or reflexed; anthers exserted4 3Leaves more or less elliptic, mostly 10–30 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide; spike usually 10–40 cm long, lower flowers less crowded than those above; often robust perennial with many adventitious rootsPlantago australis 3Leaves narrow-elliptic to narrow-obovate, mostly 3–15 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide; spike usually 10–25 cm long, all flowers more or less uniformly spaced; small slender annual with a thin taprootPlantago myosuros 4Leaves usually pinnately or bipinnately lobed, pilose; corolla-tube hairy in lower halfPlantago coronopus → 4Leaves entire or toothed (sometimes pinnately lobed in P. triandra), glabrous to pilose; corolla-tube glabrous5 5Ovules and seeds 8–16; leaf-lamina ovate to broad-elliptic, 2–12 cm wide, with the petiole about as long as laminaPlantago major 5Ovules and seeds 2–5 (except for P. triandra); leaf-lamina either less than 2 cm wide, or if ever wider, then petiole shorter than lamina6 6Peduncles with conspicuous longitudinal ridges; anterior sepals fused; spike dense; common weed of modified sitesPlantago lanceolata 6Peduncles without conspicuous longitudinal ridges; sepals all free; spike dense or open; mostly native species of natural habitats7 7Bracts on lower part of inflorescence much longer than sepals; anther appendage membranous, of similar length to body of anther8 7Bracts on lower part of inflorescence shorter than or about as long as sepals; anther appendage not membranous, much shorter than body of anther9 8Bracts on lower part of inflorescence terete; peduncles with more or less appressed, antrorse, curled hairsPlantago aristata 8Bracts on lower part of inflorescence acuminate; peduncles with long, spreading silky hairsPlantago bellardii 9Taproot not developed, rootstock often branched and plants colony-forming; bracts glabrous or sometimes with a ciliate margin; high-altitude perennials (except for the invasive P. triandra)10 9Taproot developed, usually unbranched and plants usually not colonial (except in P. gaudichaudii); bracts pilose or glabrous; mostly low-altitude annuals or perennials (but P. antarctica often subalpine)14 10Spikes 1–9 (–13)-flowered11 10Spikes 10-many-flowered13 11Seeds 8–42 per capsule; spikes 1–3-flowered, peduncles shorter than leaves; weed of sporting greensPlantago triandra 11Seeds fewer than 8 per capsule; inflorescence not as above; native alpine and subalpine species12 12Leaves usually less than 5 mm wide; spikes 1–3-flowered, peduncles c. as long as leaves at anthesis and not or hardly elongating in fruit; rosettes usually less than 5 cm diamPlantago glacialis 12Leaves usually more than 5 mm wide; spikes usually more than 3-flowered, held among leaf-bases at anthesis but peduncles usually longer than leaves in fruit; rosettes usually more than 5 cm diamPlantago muelleri 13Leaves green, glabrous to lightly pubescent, mostly 3-veined, lateral veins much less conspicuous on upper surface than midrib; fruiting spikes mostly 0.8–3 cm longPlantago alpestris 13Leaves blue-green or grey-green, pubescent to tomentose, mostly with 5 or more veins, lateral veins virtually or quite as conspicuous on upper surface as midrib; fruiting spikes mostly 3–10 cm longPlantago euryphylla 14Perennials; capsule less than 3.5 mm long, unbeaked but often with persistent style-base15 14Annuals or short-lived perennials; capsule either 3.5–5 mm long or smaller and beaked; mostly north-western20 15Sepals with keel glabrous16 15Sepals with keel pilose17 16Sepals usually 2.1–3.5 mm long; spikes mostly less than 6 cm long, flowers crowded; leaves thick-texturedPlantago antarctica 16Sepals usually 1.5–2 mm long; spikes mostly more than 6 cm long and flowers usually not crowded; leaves rather thin-texturedPlantago debilis 17Sepals usually 2.8–3.5 mm long; leaf-axils with tufts of red-brown to golden-brown hairs 2–6 mm long18 17Sepals usually 1.5–2.8 mm long; leaf-axils with tufts of white or yellow-brown hairs less than 2 mm long19 18Leaves linear to linear-elliptic, at least 15 times longer than wide, glabrous or pilose with some hairs longer than 1 mmPlantago gaudichaudii 18Leaves narrow-elliptic, usually 5–10 times longer than wide, pilose with hairs to 1 mm long, rarely morePlantago varia 19Sepals usually 1.5–2 mm long; anthers less than 1 mm long; leaves mostly 8–40 mm wide; spikes usually loose at maturityPlantago debilis 19Sepals usually 2.2–3 mm long; anthers 1 mm long or more; leaves mostly 3–12 mm wide; spikes usually dense at maturityPlantago hispida 20Capsule with a more or less cylindric beak, the apex truncate and minutely lobedPlantago turrifera 20Capsule unbeaked or with a conical beak, more or less acute and not lobed at apex21 21Capsule less than 2 mm diam., distinctly constricted above midway to form a short, conical beak; bracts and sepals usually pale or dark brownPlantago cunninghamii 21Capsule 2.2–3.5 mm diam., not distinctly beaked; bracts and sepals usually dark brown or blackishPlantago drummondii From: Jeanes, J.A. (1999). Plantaginaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J. (eds), Flora of Victoria. Vol. 4. Cornaceae to Asteraceae. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
