012 
P L A 
34. Plantago Loeflingii, or Spanifh plantain: leaves li¬ 
near, fomewhat toothed ; fcape round ; fpike ovate, brac- 
tes keeled, membranaceous. This differs from P. ccro- 
nopus in being fmaller and earlier; in having an ovate 
fpike, with the flowers more thinly imbricate ; the brac- 
tes fmooth and boat-ftiaped, whereas in that they areawl- 
fliaped, very narrow, and pubefcent. The ltamens are 
fhorter; the leaflets of the calyx more acute ; the corolla 
of a browner colour. The leaves are linear, not lanceo¬ 
late, and fparingly toothed. The fcape is hairy. It is an 
annual plant; native of Spain,.on hills and the borders 
of fields. 
35. Plantago cornuti: leaves pinnate; pinnas une¬ 
qual and diftant; fcape round; ftyles very long; fila¬ 
ments very fliort. Root fufiform, a finger in thicknefs, 
whitifb. Leaves numerous, fpread out in a circle, acute, 
with foft hairs fcattered over the furface and along the 
edge, half a foot in length. Scapes very many, afcend- 
ing, clofely villofe, rugged, the length of the leaves. 
Spike linear, three inches long, round, leafiefs, upright, 
flender. It is very nearly allied to P. coronopus; but is 
more fmooth, with the fegments of the leaves unequal, 
and a very long ftyle. Its place of growth is unknown. 
Jacquin received the feeds from Gouan, under the name 
of P. cornuti. 
II. With a leafy ftem. 
36. Plantago amplexicaulis: (lem erefl, Ample; leaves 
lanceolate, fomewhat flefhy, quite entire, embracing; 
heads fubovate. The plant of this exaftly refembles P. 
•lanceolata ; but the ftem is about the length of the little 
finger (whereas that has no ftem), and upright. Leaves 
fomewhat flefhy, narrowed at the bafeand embracing, be- 
fet with fcattered hairs. Peduncles long, in the axils of 
the leaves. Heads fubovate. It is an annual plant, na¬ 
tive of Spain. 
37. Plantago pfyllium, clammy plantain, or fleawort: 
ftem branched, herbaceous; leaves fomewhat toothed, 
recurved ; heads leafiefs. Root, flender, annual, fufiform. 
Stemftifflfh, upright, jointed, round, tinged here and there 
with purple. Lower leaves obfcurely toothed ; upper ones 
quite entire. Corollas fharply four-cleft, of a whitifh- 
bay colour. Seeds fmall, brown,oblong, filming, convex 
on one fide, concave on the other. Native of the fouth 
of Europe, Barbary, and the Canary-iflands ; cultivated 
here in 1562, as appears from Turner’s Herbal. Miller 
fays, that it was found in the earth thrown out of the 
bottom of the canals, which were dug for the Chelfea 
water-works ; and that it is fometimes imported from the 
fouth of France for medical ufe. It flowers in July. 
38. Plantago fquarrofa, or leafy-fpiked plantain : her¬ 
baceous; ftems branched, diffufed, decumbent; leaves 
linear, quite entire ; heads fquarrofe. This, according 
to Jacquin, flowers in the ftove from June to Auguft, af¬ 
ter which it ripens its feed. From a white annual root 
proceeds a weak ftem, incurvated at the bafe, and from 
thence, foon after its origin, oppofitely branched, round, 
villofe, and half a foot high ; leaves fefiile, roughifh, from 
one to four inches long, fubciliated, and that particularly 
below. Flowers folitary in the bofoms of the floral fpikes, 
forming a leafy fpike, exactly anfwering to the Linnsean 
character; calycme leaves equal, and green, covered with 
white vifcid hairs; petal pale; antheras brownifli : the 
whole ftyle villofe and white. Native of Egypt. Intro¬ 
duced in 1787, by Mr. Zier. It flowers in Auguft and 
September. 
39. Plant3go Indica, or Indian plantain: ftem branched, 
herbaceous; leaves quite entire, reflex; heads leafy. 
Native of Egypt and India. Gmelin found it about Af- 
tracan. Cultivated in 1683, by Mr. James Sutherland. 
It flowers in July and Auguft. 
40. Plantago pumila, or dwarf plantain : ftem branched, 
herbaceous; leaves quite entire, flelhy ; branches even. 
This is fo like the P. Indica of Linnaeus, that at firft 
P L A 
fight, it might pafs for a fmall variety of it. It is an 
annual tender plant, about a fpan high. Root fmall, 
growing more and more (lender as it defcends; and 
fibriilofe at the edges. Stem ereft, variouily bent, round, 
thin ; beneath compofcd of brandies decollating oppo¬ 
fitely, fpreading half a palm’s length, and with internodes 
of about two inches. Leaves fubulate, channelled, very 
fpreading, reflefted at the tip, oppofite, the upper ones 
fometimes ternate and quaternate, about a palm’s length, 
pubefcent on the margins, or ciliated. 
41. Plantago cynops,or (lirubby plantain: ftem branched, 
fuft'ruticofe ; [eaves quite entire, filiform, drift; heads 
fomewhat leafy. It differs from P. pfyliium, in having a 
perennial fufiform root; the flem not villofe, but naked, 
fhrubby, purp.Mfti, procumbent, then ereft, diffufed; 
leaves oppofite, quite entire, ereft, fubvillofe, whereas 
tliofe of the other are p.'Hulous and villofe; the fpikes 
are encircled with leaves and fcales. Native of the (outh 
of Europe, Barbary, and Siberia. Cultivated in 1596, by 
Gerard. It flower^ from May to Auguft. 
The ancients made a mucilage cf the feeds by decoc¬ 
tion, both from this fpecies, and P. pfyllium. It was ef- 
teemed lubricating and peftoral, provided the feeds were 
neither bruifed nor over-boiled, the kernel being acrid. 
They are now neglefted. 
42. Plantago Afra, or Barbary’ plantain: ftem branched, 
flirubby; leaves lanceolate, toothed; heads leafleff. 
Stem a foot high, upright, pubefcent: leaves fubvillofe, 
ftriated. Spikes feveral, at the ends of the branches. 
Native of Sicily, and in the kingdom of Tunis, along the 
coaft of the ifland of Tabarca. 
43. Plantago parvifiora, or fmall-flowered plantain : 
leaves oppofite, linear, ciliate; peduncles (liorter than 
the leaf, heads round; braftes prefled clofe, equalling 
the calyx. Root long, flender, twifted, defcending, put¬ 
ting out here and there capillary fibres. Stems herba¬ 
ceous, feveral from one tuft, (lender, pubefcent. Leaves 
often bowed, fomewhat rigid, thickifn. Heads of flowers 
fmall, (tiff, fefiile, or peduncled. It is an annual plant; 
native of Barbary, in the great defert. 
■ Propagation and Culture. Thefe plants are feldom to be 
feen except in botanic gardens, having little beauty’. 
The greater part are hardy enough to bear the open air 
in our climate. They rife eafily from feeds, of which 
they produce great abundance, and require no nicety in 
the cultivation. Some few, as N° 3, 9, 16, 38, 39, require 
the protection of the dry ftove; and feveral of them mult 
be fcreened from froit in fevere winters. See Alisma, 
Limosella, Littorei.la, and Pistia. 
PLANTAIN, /. ■ [plantain, Fr. plantago, Lat.] An 
herb. See Plantago. —The moll common fimples are 
mugu'ort, plantain, and horfe-tail. W if email’s Surgery .— 
A tree in the Weft Indies, which bears an efculent fruit. 
See Heliconia and Musa. 
I long my carelefs limbs to lay 
Under the plantain’s (hade. Waller. 
I-Frttej-PLANTAiN. See Alisma and Limosella. 
PLAN'TAIN-GAR'DEN RIV'ER, a river of Jamaica, 
which runs into the fea, forming a bay at its mouth, near 
Cape Morant. 
PLAN'TAIN I'SLAND, a fmall ifland in the Atlantic, 
near the coaft of Africa. Lat. 7. 54. N. Ion. 12. 18. W. 
PLA'NTAL, adj. [from plant.'] Pertaining to plants. 
Not ufed. —There’s but little fimilitude betwixt a terreous 
humidity and plantal germinations. Glanvillt’s Scepjis. 
PLANT A'NO CEPH'ALUS, /. in botany. See Ce- 
phalanthus. 
PLANTATION, f. [plantatio, from ptanto, Latin.] 
The aft or praftice of planting. The place planted.— 
As fwine are to gardens and orderly plantations, fo are 
tumults to parliaments. King Charles. —Virgil, with great 
modefty in his looks, was feated by Calliope in the midft 
of a plantation of laurel. Addifon. 
1 Some 
