Plantago rhodosperma

Redseed plantain

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Redseed plantain is a California native annual found in the Shasta County region and southern California coastal areas in rocky, sandy, or disturbed places at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering in May, this plant produces white to pale flowers in spikes 1.5 to 17 centimeters long with delicate, fine hairs. Growing with widely oblanceolate to obovate leaves 5.5 to 29.5 centimeters long, it has thin stems with long, fine hairs. Its leaves are generally slightly toothed, tapering to a narrow base and displaying a distinctive spreading growth pattern. The seeds are particularly notable, measuring 2.5 to 3 millimeters long and typically a distinctive red to red-brown color.

Habitat: Rocky, sandy, or disturbed places

Bloom period: May

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CaRF (Shasta Co.), SCo

California counties: San Diego, Orange

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