366 — THE PLANTAIN FAMILY. 
terminating in along, simple style. Capsule opening trans- 
versely or indehiscent. 
A small Order, widely spread over the globe, but most abundant in 
the temperate regions of the Old World. 
Flowers hermaphrodite, in terminal heads or spikes 1. PLANTAGO. 
Flowers unisexual, solitary, or 2 together, the males stalked, , the 
females sessile. amongst the leaves oy Bt ; . 2. LITTORELLA. 
I. PLANTAGO. PLANTAIN. 
Flowers’ hermaphrodite, in heads or spikes on a leafless peduncle. 
Capsule 2- or 4-celled, with 2 or more seeds, 
The genus comprises the whole family, with the exception of the 
single species of Lzttorella. 
Leaves ovate or lanceolate, strongly ribbed. 
Leaves very broad, stalked. Spike long. Capsule several- 
seeded ow A) OB 
Leaves ovate, almost sessile. Spike cylindrical. Capsule 1- 
seeded. 2 . 2 P. media. 
Leaves lanceolate. Spike ovoid, or shortly cylindrical. Capsule - 
2-seeded : 3 . & P. lanceolata. 
Leaves linear, entire or paint) 
Leaves entire, or very slightly toothed. Ovary 2-celled 4, P. maritima. 
Leaves deeply toothed or pinnatifid. Ovary 4-celled 5. P. Coronopus. 
1. P. major, Linn. (fig. 828). Greater Poa Balle short and 
thick. Leaves erect or spreading, broadly ovate, often 4 or 5 inches 
long and nearly as broad, entire or toothed, glabrous or downy, marked 
with 7 (rarely 9 or only 5) prominent, parallel ribs, converging at the 
base into a rather long footstalk. Peduncles usually longer than the 
leaves, bearing a long, slender spike of sessile flowers, smaller than 
in the two following species. Sepals green in the centre, scarious — 
on the edges. Stamens longer than the corolla, but shorter than in ~ 
the two following species. Capsule 2-celled, with from 4 to 8 seeds 
in each cell. 
In pastures, on roadsides, and in waste places, throughout Europe 
and Russian and central Asia, and has spread with cultivation over 
almost every part of the globe. Very abundant in Britain. 1. 
summer and autumn. It varies much in size; the spike of flowers is 
seldom less than 2 inches, sometimes as much as 6 inches long. [P. 
intermedia, Gilis., is a dwarf downy form with ascending scapes. | 
2. P. media, ‘Linn. (fig. 829). Hoary P.—Rootstock thick, almost 
woody, and branched as in P. lanceolata. Leaves ovate, sessile, usually 
closely spreading on the ground, more or less hoary with a short down, 
and marked with 5 or 7 ribs. Peduncles long and erect, bearing a 
dense cylindrical spike, shorter and much thicker than in P. major, 
but yet longer than in P. lanceolata, varying from 1 to near 2 inches in 
length. Flowers and capsules of P. lanceolata, except that the 4 sepals 
are free, the corolla more silvery, and the stamens pink or purple. 
Ovary with 2 seeds in each cell, but they often do not all ripen, and 
the capsule has then but 3 or 2 altogether. 
In dry, close pastures, chiefly in limestone districts, in most parts of | 
Europe “and western Asia. Abundant in similar situations in England 
