Plantago lanceolata

English plantain

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

English plantain is a naturalized perennial herb found in California's Foothill Parklands in disturbed areas at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers in dense, narrow spikes 2 to 8 centimeters long. Growing with stout taproots and short stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall, it forms robust clusters in open ground. Its distinctive leaves are lanceolate, 5 to 25 centimeters long, tapering to a narrow base and finely toothed along the edges. The plant produces one to two small seeds approximately 3 millimeters long, characteristic of its weedy, widespread nature.

Habitat: Common. Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

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

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