Plantago erecta

California plantain

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: annual · Native

California plantain is a native annual found in California's Central Coast, Coast Ranges, and Southwestern California in sandy, clay, or serpentine substrates, grassy slopes, and open woodlands at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces small, delicate white to pale green flowers in dense, compact spikes 3 to 30 centimeters tall. Growing with thin, thread-like stems 15 to 30 centimeters tall and scattered silky hairs, it has a slender, upright habit. Its leaves are narrow and elongated, measuring 3 to 13 centimeters long, with thread-like to oblanceolate shapes and occasional small teeth along the margins. Each plant produces two small seeds, approximately 2 to 2.5 millimeters long, nestled within its compact flower head.

Habitat: Sandy, clay, or serpentine substrates, grassy slopes, flats, open woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Orange, Ventura, Lake, Butte, Contra Costa, Kern, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Monterey, Marin, Yuba, Riverside, Fresno, San Diego, Sutter, San Bernardino, Tuolumne, Santa Clara, Colusa, Napa, San Joaquin, Mendocino, San Francisco, Tehama, Placer, Humboldt, Mariposa, San Mateo, Yolo, San Benito, Shasta, Calaveras, Sacramento, El Dorado, Merced, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Amador, Solano, Alameda, Glenn, Nevada, Stanislaus, Del Norte, Madera, Kings, Inyo, Trinity, Imperial

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