Plantago virginica

Dwarf plantain

Family: Plantaginaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Dwarf plantain is a naturalized annual found in the Central Valley, southern California coastal areas, and Shasta County in sandy or disturbed places at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering in May, this plant produces small white to pale green flowers in narrow spikes 3 to 33 centimeters long. Growing with fine, long hairs and delicate stems, it reaches heights of 10 to 30 centimeters. Its leaves are widely oblanceolate, 2 to 12 centimeters long, tapering to the base and sometimes slightly toothed along the edges. The plant produces two pale brown seeds, each with a distinctive concave inner surface.

Habitat: Sandy or disturbed places, often weedy

Bloom period: May

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CaRF (Shasta Co.), GV, SCo

California counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Fresno, Riverside, Butte, Kings, Del Norte, Shasta, Sacramento

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