Plantago elongata

Annual coast plantago

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Annual coast plantago is a California native annual found in the California Floristic Province in saline, alkaline places, beaches, and vernal pools at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers in dense spikes 2 to 18 centimeters long. Growing with thread-like to linear leaves 3 to 10 centimeters long, it forms delicate, sparse plants with minimal hair coverage. Its leaves are entire or have few teeth, creating a slender and elegant profile in coastal and alkaline environments. The plant produces 3 to 9 small seeds, each 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long, adapted to challenging coastal habitats.

Habitat: Saline, alkaline places, beaches, vernal pools

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc CaRH, s SNF, SNH, Teh)

California counties: Santa Barbara, Colusa, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Tulare, Kern, Monterey, Orange, Marin, Sacramento, Tehama, Merced, Contra Costa, Butte, Sutter, Glenn, Shasta, Yuba, Alameda, Fresno, Napa, Solano, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Humboldt, Stanislaus, San Benito, Kings, Yolo, Del Norte, San Mateo, Mendocino, Lake, Calaveras, Ventura, Tuolumne, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.