Buckhorn plantain – Plantago lanceolata

Buckhorn-plantain rosette in soil. The leaves are narrow, linear, and elongated with parallel veins.

Buckhorn plantain – Plantago lanceolata

Plantago lanceolata L.

Plantaginaceae (Plantain family)

MI Status

Non-native

Life cycle

Rosette-forming simple perennial.

Leaves

All leaves originate from a basal rosette. Cotyledons are very narrow and grasslike. Leaves are narrow, linear and elongated with parallel veins and generally smooth leaf margins. Long hairs may be present at the leaf base.

Stems

No visible above ground stem. Semi-woody taproot present.

Flowers and fruit

Long, leafless stalks bear dense, cylinder-shaped flowering spikes and fruit. Single flowers are inconspicuous. Fruiting capsules yield two narrowly oval, brown to black, shiny seeds indented on one side.

Reproduction

Seeds and basal shoots.

Buckhorn plantain rosette growing in soil. Leaves are narrow and linear. — Buckhorn plantain rosette

Buckhorn plantain seedling with two narrow cotyledons. — Buckhorn plantain seedling

Buckhorn plantain flower with a cylinder-shaped spike on a long stalk. — Buckhorn plantain flower

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Plant & Pest Diagnostics