61.) PLANTAGINACEAE - Plantain family
PLANTAGINACEAE - Plantain family
PLANTAGO L.
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Plantago notata Lag. (Desert Indianwheat - UAE FLORA, Plicate Plantain?) General Extinct A native of the Mediterranean; recorded on a tip at Eastville in 1917 by C.I. Sandwith.
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Plantago coronopus L. (Buck's-horn Plantain) / Coasts Frequent Common in short well-drained sandy or rocky turf along the coast and in dry open species-rich grassland inland. It has also spread greatly along roadsides via the salting of roads.
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Plantago maritima L. (Sea Plantain) / Coasts Uncommon Common around the coast and along the tidal rivers Avon, Yeo and Axe in upper saltmarsh, rocky cliffs and walls; also occasionally found inland as a result of salting of roads.
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Plantago aristata Michx. (Bracted Plantain) 1922 General Extinct A native of North America; recorded as a casual on waste ground at Bedminster, Bristol and Portishead Dock in 1922 by C.I. Sandwith; and at Avonmouth Docks by T.H. Green (Riddelsdell, 1948); and there again in 1959 by ? [BMAG].
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Plantago major L. (Greater Plantain) / General Very Common Very common in almost any disturbed situation but particularly dominant on trodden clay soils rich in nutrients such as around gateways, field entrances and trampled paths. Mutant forms with leafy inflorescences occur rarely. Way-bread is another name listed by White (1912).
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ssp. major General Very Common The common taxon with the same range and distribution as the species.
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ssp. intermedia (Gilib.) Lange General Uncommon Scattered over the region in short grassy and barren places; usually on damper more neutral to acidic soils, including: lawns, coasts, gravel, tracks, city lanes, and derelict ground. Differs from the nominate plant in being smaller, having leaves with a more narrowed broadly cuneate base with usually undulate-serrate margins and a pointed apex, fewer veins (3-5 as opposed to 5-9) and shorter spikes with capsules containing more seeds (usually more than 15 vs less than 15 in ssp. major).
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Plantago media L. (Hoary Plantain) / Grassland Uncommon A plant of species-rich neutral to calcareous grassland, unimproved pastures, churchyards, road verges and grass banks. Often persists in amenity areas as a remnant of a much richer floral past. "Fire-leaves is the name given in Gloucestershire to Plantain leaves, more especially to those of P. media. The farmer selects some from the hay and violently twists them to ascertain if water can be squeezed out. If so, the amount of moisture in newly carried hay is thought sufficient to induce heat and fermentation enough to fire the rick." (Gardener's Chronicle 1860, p. 738 in White, 1912).
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Plantago lanceolata L. (Ribwort Plantain) / General Very Common Very common everywhere in any grassy habitat but particularly on heavier soils. Occasionally mutant plants with multiple flower heads on the same scape and leafy bracts below are produced. White (1912) gives Rib-grass as an alternative name and Blackheads, Soldiers and Fireweed are local names to Gloucestershire according to Riddelsdell (1948). The var. timbalii "A casual weed, apparently not indigenous, found occasionally in crops of sown grasses, clover etc. It is a large, tufted plant, with heads of a silvery-white appearance from the nature of the scarious bracts." (White, 1912 [as P. timbalii]) is no longer recognised.
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Plantago lagopus L. (ssp. lagopus) (Hare's-foot Plantain) 1907 General Extinct A native of the Mediterranean; "Casual in Portishead Station-yard, S. 1907...Miss Roper. And on a fowl run under Ashley Hill, G. in 1911 (White, 1912); St Philip's Marsh in 1916 by M. Cobbe; Avonmouth Docks, frequent, H.J. Gibbons (Sandwith, 1932). First recorded there in 1928 by ? [BMAG], there again in 1939 by ? [BMAG]; and lastly in 1958 by ? [BMAG].
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Plantago arenaria Waldst. & Kit. (Branched Plantain) 1930 General Extinct A native of southern Europe; formerly occurred as a casual of docks and working yards. "In fair quantity for several years (1880 to 1884) with other aliens on a heap of old colliery rubble near Mount Hill, Kingswood. On a tip in St. Philip's Marsh, Bristol, July, 1904. Three or four plants in a stony warren among furze and bracken (cottages and poultry not far off) near the top of West Hill, Wraxall, Sept. 1910" White (1912); Avonmouth Docks, frequent (Sandwith, 1932) - first recorded there in 1930 by ? [BMAG]; Portishead Dock in 1932 by C.I. Sandwith; recorded in a cabbage field at Dodington Ash in 1958 by G.W. Garlick [as P. indica in Bristol Botany in 1958].
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Plantago afra L. (ssp. afra) (Glandular Plantain) General Extinct A native of southern Europe; recorded in a fowl-run on Wee Lane [now Glenfrome Road], Eastville in 1922 by C.I. Sandwith (as P. psyllium); at Avonmouth Docks in 1931 by C.I. Sandwith and in a fowl run at Ashton Gate in 1940 by ? [BMAG].
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Plantago sempervirens Crantz (Shrubby Plantain) General Very Rare A native of south-western Europe; recorded at Bishopsworth in 2013 by L. Crew [iRecord]; at Kewstoke, North Somerset in 2013 by Singer Farmer, Josi, [iRecord]; at Hengrove Mound and Eastwood Farm in 2014 by B. Laird-Hopkins.
[These records are clearly wrong - get rid!]
- Littorella uniflora (L.) Asch. (Shoreweed) Wetland Very Rare Only found on the shores of Blagdon Lake where it was first discovered in 1922 by H.J. Gibbons. Its presence from year to year varies and is determined by how much the water-level recedes to expose the banks. It is surprising that waterfowl have not yet spread it to other nearby water bodies such as Chew Valley Lake.
List:
- Plantago coronopus L. (Buck's-horn Plantain) / Coasts
- Plantago maritima L. (Sea Plantain) / Coasts
- Plantago aristata Michx. (Bracted Plantain) 1922 General
- Plantago major L. (ssp. major and ssp. intermedia (Gilib.) Lange - Stace, NBN) (Greater Plantain) / General
- Plantago media L. (Hoary Plantain) / Grassland
- Plantago lanceolata L. (Ribwort Plantain) / General
- Plantago lagopus L. (ssp. lagopus - Kew) (Hare's-foot Plantain) 1907 General
- Plantago arenaria Waldst. & Kit. (Branched Plantain) 1930 General
- Littorella uniflora (L.) Asch. (Shoreweed) Wetland