138 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



are purple, or reddish-brown. The capsule is two- 

 celled, with four to eight seeds in each cell, which 

 are rough and black. 



In height the plant is sometimes 9 in. It flowers 

 from May to September, and is a herbaceous 

 perennial. 



Like other Plantains the flowers are adapted to 

 wind-pollination. The anthers mature after the 

 stigma as in most flowers of this type. The stamens 

 are long and flexible, the stigmas feathery, and last 

 a long time. The pollen is set free by a very small 

 aperture and the stamens must be violently shaken 

 to set it free, opening above. Pollen is abundant and 

 insects visit the flowers to obtain it. 



When ripe the capsules open, dispersing the seeds, 

 when they are blown away by the wind to a distance. 



The plant is known by the names Bent, Bird-seed, 

 Bird's Meat, Broad Leaf, Canary-seed, Carl-doddie, 

 Curl-doddy, Ripple Girs, Great Way-brede, Healing 

 Blade, Kemps, Lamb's Foot, Plant, Plantain. 

 Great Plantain, Rat-tail, Slan-las, Warba Leaves, 

 Wabert-leaf, Way beran -leaf, Way bread, Waj^from, 

 Wayside Bread, Weybred, Wibrow, Wybrow. 



The seeds have been used as bird-seed. 



Plantago major. — In the illustration {Fig. 37) the 

 rosette habit of the plant is shown, with the long-stalked, 

 broad, ovate leaves, and the long scape, with spike-like 

 inflorescence. 



