Plantago lanceolata

Species category

Weed

Common name

narrowleaf plantain, buckhorn plantain, English plantain, lanceleaf Indianwheat, lanceleaf plantain, ribgrass, ribwort

Diagnostic characters

Planting unit

True seedTrue seed:
A mature fertilized ovule consisting of an embryo, with or without and external food reserve (e.g., endosperm) enclosed by the testa.

Shape

OvalOval:
Broadly elliptic.
and boat shaped

Size

  • Length 2–2.3 mm 
  • Width 1–1.2 mm 
  • Thickness 0.4–0.5 mm 

Color

Brown with light brown dorsalDorsal:
Upper side or back of a seed or fruit.
band

Texture

Glossy on dorsalDorsal:
Upper side or back of a seed or fruit.
side; scurfyScurf:
Having flakes on the surface.
on ventralVentral:
Adaxial; of the side of an organ facing the axis (compare dorsal).
side.

Other structures

HilumHilum:
The scar on the seed coat at the place of its detachment from the seed stalk (funiculus).
is medial, depressed in ventralVentral:
Adaxial; of the side of an organ facing the axis (compare dorsal).
concavity, and margins enrolled.

Identification notes

Seed boat-shaped with heavily enrolled margins. EmbryoEmbryo:
A rudimentary plant contained in a seed, usually consisting of a more or less differentiated axis and attached cotyledon(s).
visible as a light-brown, dorsalDorsal:
Upper side or back of a seed or fruit.
and longitudinal band.

Noxious weed seed categories

State Noxious Weed: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming 

AOSA examination list

Included

More information

For more information, see ISMA fact sheet.

Nomenclature

Family

Plantaginaceae

Valid name

Plantago lanceolata L.

Synonyms

Plantago altissima auct. non L
Plantago lanceolata L. var. sphaerostachya Mert. & W.D.J. Koch

 Plantago lanceolata . True seeds with heavily enrolled margins.
Plantago lanceolata. True seeds with heavily enrolled margins.
 Plantago lanceolata.  True seeds with a light brown embryo.
Plantago lanceolata. True seeds with a light brown embryo.