PLANTAGINACEAE. 333 



Utricularia minor L. Stems floating; leaves forked 2-4 times, the thread- 

 like divisions few; corolla yellow, 4-6 mm. broad, the lips wide open; spur very 

 short. 



In ponds, scarce. 



Family 93. PLANTAGINACEAE. PLANTAIN FAMILY. 



Mostly stemless herbs; flowers regular, 4-merous, in spikes; 

 corolla gamopetalous, dry and membranaceous, veinless; stamens 

 4, or rarely 2, on the corolla- tube, alternate with its lobes; ovary 

 2-, or falsely 3-4-celled; ovules 1-several in each cavity. 



465. PLANTAGO. PLANTAIN. 



Leaves nerved or ribbed, radical; flowers small, in bracted 

 spikes, on naked scapes; calyx of 4 persistent sepals; corolla 

 salverform or rotate, 4-parted; stamens 4, or rarely 2, in all or 

 some flowers with long exserted filaments; ovary 2-celled; ovules 

 1-several in each cell; capsule 2-celled, 2-several-seeded. 



Leaves ovate or lanceolate. 



Seeds numerous; leaves ovate. P. major. 



Seeds only 2-4; leaves lanceolate. P. lanceolata. 



Leaves linear. 



Corolla-lobes closed over the fruit. P. bigelovii. 



Corolla-lobes spreading in fruit. 

 Leaves fleshy; seaside plants. 



Leaves obtuse; capsule 4 mm. long. P. maritima. 



Leaves acute;*capsule 6-8 mm. long. P. macrocarpa. 



Leaves not fleshy; inland plants. 



Spikes woolly; bracts short. P. purshii. 



Spikes not woolly; bracts long. P. aristata. 



Plantago major L. Common Plantain. Perennial, pubescent or glabrous, 

 the erect scapes mostly 10-30 cm. high; leaves broadly ovate, 3-5-ribbed, 

 obtuse or acute, rounded at base, entire or coarsely dentate, 3-20 cm. long, 

 on stout channeled petioles; spikes 5-20 cm. long; flowers all alike, perfect; 

 sepals ovate or oblong, obtuse, shorter than the acutish capsule; seeds 6-15. 



Introduced in waste places; also native, especially on lake and sea beaches. 



Plantago lanceolata L. Buckhorn. Perennial, with a stout tap-root, 

 erect, 30-45 cm. high, more or less pubescent; leaves 5-20 cm. long, sparsely 

 pubescent, woolly at the base of the broad petiole; spikes dense, 1-3 cm. Jong, 

 a little thicker at the base; bracts and sepals scarious; flowers all alike, perfect; 

 capsule oblong, obtuse, 2-seeded; seeds concave on the inner face. 



Introduced; common in lawns and meadows. 



Plantago bigelovii Gray. Annual, green and glabrous; leaves linear, obtuse, 

 entire, 4-10 cm. long; spikes dense, few-flowered, 2-3 cm. long, exceeding the 

 leaves; stamens 2; capsule ovoid-oblong, 4 mm. long, 4-seeded. 



In salt marshes, rare. 



Plantago maritima L. Glabrous or nearly so, somewhat fleshy; leaves 

 linear, obtuse, more or less woolly at base, 5-25 cm. long; spikes dense, 2-10 

 cm. long; bracts obtuse, shorter than the calyx; sepals oval, keeled on the 

 back; corolla-lobes acutish; stamens 4; seeds few, not concave on the face. 



On the seashore, common. 



