PLANTAIN FAMILY 
( Plantaginacece) 
(A) Common Plantain (Plantago major ) is a very 
familiar weed about ill-kept dooryards. The leaves are 
large and spreading; broad-oblong, on long troughed 
stems that radiate from the root. 
The flower stalk rises to about the same height as 
the next, but the flower head is very long. The tiny 
white flowers open in circles about this head, slowly 
making their way towards the top in their succession 
of bloom, which lasts from June until September. 
(B) English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata). The 
leaves all radiate from the base; they are lanceolate, 
sharply pointed and set on long, troughed stems. 
The flower stem is stiff and smooth and attains 
heights of 6 to 18 inches. The head is short and 
studded with tiny, four-parted, dull white flowers, with 
long, slender stamens. There are often perfect, stami- 
nate and pistillate flowers on the same plant. It is now 
as abundant in all parts of our range as it is in its 
native European home. 
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