226 WEEDS OF THE FARM AND GARDEN 



or tube of the corolla ; ovary one to two-celled, or falsely 

 two to four-celled, sessile ; ovule one to several in each 

 cavity; fruit a pyxis, circumscissile at or below the mid- 

 dle, or a nutlet ; seeds with a mucilaginous testa. Of the 

 three genera of this family, two are native to North 

 America. More than 200 species of wide distribution. 



Fig. 142. Rugel's plantain (Plantago Rugelii). 



Common Plantain (Plantago major, L.). A smooth 

 perennial or biennial, sometimes hairy, rarely roughish ; 

 leaves ribbed, ovate, oblong, oval or slightly heart-shaped, 

 narrowing into a channeled petiole; flowers in a dense 

 spike, parts in fours ; sepals round-ovate or obovate ; 

 corolla salver form, withering on the pod ; fruit an eight 



