GAMOPETALiE 137 



Great Plantain {Plantago major). 



Waybread is another name for the Plantain, and 

 this describes the fact that this plant seems to have 

 a predilection for the highway. 



In the British Isles the Great Plantain is found in 

 all parts, and in Northumberland grows at an 

 altitude of 2000 ft. It is, in fact, everywhere an 

 abundant plant in Great Britain. 



In every field where there is a manure heap or hay- 

 rick the Great Plantain will be found. The habitat is 

 fields, pastures, roadsides, waste places. This plant is 

 a lover of open ground, and for this reason also grows 

 on arable land, and in gardens, at the base of walls, 

 amongst stones in a paved causeway, etc. In corn- 

 fields it becomes variable. 



The plant is the largest species amongst British 

 types. It has the rosette habit. There is a short, 

 blunt, stout rootstock. The leaves are broad, ovate, 

 or oval, with a broad grooved stalk, and with short 

 irregular teeth, or entire. They are prostrate or 

 erect. The ribs are strong, usually seven, prominent, 

 parallel, and meet together at the base. 



The flowers are green, borne on a long scape, with 

 a stalk, which is much longer than the leaves. 

 The flowers are sessile, and the inflorescence is 

 thus a spike. The sepals are green, with a mem- 

 branous border, and bluntly keeled. The tube of 

 the corolla is smooth. The anther-stalks are short, 

 but the stamens exceed the corolla, and the anthers 



