Plantago

This article is about the plant genus. For the fruit also called plantain, see Cooking plantain. For other uses, see Plantain (disambiguation).

Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 centimetres (24 inches) tall.

Plantago
Greater plantain (Plantago major)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Tribe:	Plantagineae
Genus:	Plantago L.
Subgenera
Plantago Coronopus Bougeria Psyllium Littorella
Synonyms^[1]
Psyllium Mill.

Description

The leaves are sessile or have a poorly defined petiole.^[2]: 632 They have three or five parallel veins that diverge in the wider part of the leaf. Leaves are broad or narrow, depending on the species. The inflorescences are borne on stalks typically 5–40 centimetres (2–15+1⁄2 inches) tall, and can be a short cone or a long spike, with numerous tiny wind-pollinated flowers.

Species

The boundaries of the genus Plantago have been fairly stable, with the main question being whether to include Bougueria (one species from the Andes) and Littorella (2–3 species of aquatic plants).^[3]

There are about 200 species of Plantago, including:

• Plantago afra
• Plantago africana
• Plantago aitchisonii
• Plantago alpina
• Plantago amplexicaulis
• Plantago arborescens
• Plantago arenaria—Branched plantain
• Plantago argentea
• Plantago aristata—Bracted plantain, largebracted plantain
• Plantago asiatica—Chinese plantain, obako, arnoglossa
• Plantago aucklandica
• Plantago bigelovii
• Plantago canescens
• Plantago coreana
• Plantago cordata—Heartleaf plantain
• Plantago coronopus—Buckshorn plantain
• Plantago cornuti
• Plantago cretica
• Plantago cynops
• Plantago debilis—Shade plantain, weak plantain
• Plantago elongata—Prairie plantain, slender plantain
• Plantago erecta—California plantain, foothill plantain, dot-seed plantain, English plantain, dwarf plantain
• Plantago eriopoda—Redwool plantain
• Plantago erosa
• Plantago fernandezia
• Plantago fischeri
• Plantago gentianoides
• Plantago glabrifolia
• Plantago grayana
• Plantago hawaiensis—Hawaiian plantain
• Plantago hedleyi
• Plantago helleri—Heller's plantain
• Plantago heterophylla
• Plantago hillebrandii
• Plantago himalaica
• Plantago holosteum
• Plantago hookeriana—Hookers plantain, tallow weed, California plantain
• Plantago incisa
• Plantago indica
• Plantago krajinai
• Plantago lagopus—Hare's foot plantain
• Plantago lanceolata—Ribwort plantain
• Plantago lanigera
• Plantago leiopetala—Madeira plantain
• Plantago longissima
• Plantago macrocarpa
• Plantago major—Greater plantain, common plantain
• Plantago maritima—Sea plantain
• Plantago maxima
• Plantago media—Hoary plantain
• Plantago melanochrous
• Plantago moorei—Moore's plantain
• Plantago musicola
• Plantago nivalis
• "Plantago novae-zelandiae"
• Plantago nubicola (also known as Bougueria nubicola)
• Plantago obconica
• Plantago ovata—Indian wheat, blond psyllium
• Plantago pachyphylla
• Plantago palmata
• Plantago patagonica—Woolly plantain
• "Plantago picta"
• Plantago polysperma
• Plantago princeps
• Plantago purshii—Woolly plantain
• Plantago pusilla
• Plantago psyllium—Sand plantain, French or dark psyllium
• Plantago raoulii
• Plantago rapensis
• Plantago remota
• Plantago reniformis
• Plantago rhodosperma—Redseed plantain, redseed indianwheat
• Plantago rigida
• Plantago robusta
• Plantago rugelii—Blackseed plantain
• Plantago rupicola
• Plantago schneideri
• Plantago sempervirens
• Plantago sparsiflora
• Plantago spathulata
• Plantago subnuda—Tall coastal plantain
• Plantago tanalensis
• Plantago taqueti
• Plantago tenuiflora
• Plantago triandra
• Plantago triantha
• Plantago tweedyi
• "Plantago udicola"
• "Plantago unibracteata"
• Plantago virginica—Virginia plantain, paleseed plantain
• Plantago winteri
• Plantago wrightiana—Wright's plantain

Etymology

The genus name Plantago descends from the classical Latin name plantago, which in classical Latin meant some Plantago species, including Plantago major and Plantago media. In Latin the name was formed from the classical Latin word planta = "sole of the foot". The name was so formed in Latin because the leaves of these species grow out near flat at ground level. The suffix -ago in Latin means "a sort of".^[4]

Distribution and habitat

The species are found all over the world, including the Americas, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Europe. Many species in the genus are cosmopolitan weeds. They are found in many different habitats, most commonly in wet areas like seepages or bogs. They can also be found in alpine and semi-alpine or coastal areas. The cosmopolitan weeds can be frequently seen at the side of roads.

Ecology

Further information: List of Lepidoptera that feed on plantains

Plantains are used as food plants by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth).

Uses

Plantain has been consumed as human food since prehistory. For example, archaeological recovery along California's Central Coast has demonstrated use of this species as a food since the Millingstone Horizon.^[5] The broad-leaved varieties are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable for salads, green sauce, and so on.^{[6]: 108–109} Tender young plantain leaves can be eaten raw and older leaves can be cooked. The seeds can be cooked like rice.^[7]

Plantago species have been used since prehistoric times as herbal remedies. The herb is astringent, anti-toxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, as well as demulcent, expectorant, styptic and diuretic.^[8] Externally, a poultice of the leaves is useful for insect bites, poison-ivy rashes, minor sores, and boils. In folklore it is even claimed to be able to cure snakebite and was used by the Dakota Indian tribe of North America for this.^[9] Internally, it is used for coughs and bronchitis, as a tea,^[10] tincture, or syrup.^{[citation needed]} Tea made from the leaves may help cure diarrhea.^[11]

Plantain seed husks expand and become mucilaginous when wet, especially those of P. psyllium, which is used in common over-the-counter bulk laxative and fiber supplement products such as Metamucil. P. psyllium seed is useful for constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, dietary fiber supplementation, and diverticular disease. Mucilage from desert indianwheat (P. ovata) is obtained by grinding off the husk. This mucilage, also known as psyllium, is commonly sold as Isabgol, a laxative which is used to control irregular bowel syndrome and constipation.^[12] It has been used as an indigenous Ayurvedic and Unani medicine for a whole range of bowel problems. Psyllium supplements are typically used in powder form, along with adequate amounts of fluids. A dose of at least 7 grams daily taken with adequate amounts of fluid (water, juice) is used by some for management of elevated cholesterol. There are a number of psyllium products used for constipation. The usual dose is about 3.5 grams twice a day. Psyllium is also a component of several ready-to-eat cereals.

In Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia, leaves from Plantago major are used as a folk remedy to preventing infection on cuts and scratches because of its antiseptic properties. In Slovenia and other Central European regions, the leaves were traditionally used topically as a cure for blisters resulting from friction (such as caused by tight shoes etc.).

There may also be a use for plantains in the abatement of enteric methane from ruminants,^[13] as the natural compounds present (e.g. condensed tannins; ~14 g/kg DM), affect the acetate-propionate ratio in the rumen, which is a primary mechanism by which methanogenesis is restricted.^[14] Currently this is not a viable option in any significant scale due to agronomic difficulties.

Culture

As Old English Wegbrade the plantago is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10th century.

Gallery

•  
  Plantago alpina
•  
  Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
•  
  Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
•  
  Plantago nivalis
•  
  Ribwort plantain flower spike
•  
  Buckshorn plantain (Plantago coronopus)
•  
  Plantago media stepposa
•  
  Plantago maritima

References

1. Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-04-20. Archived from the original on 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
2. Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
3. Albach, D. C., Meudt, H. M. & Oxelman, B. 2005. . American Journal of Botany 92: 297–315.
4. "Plantago" in The Names of Plants, by David Gledhill, year 2008. Compare the definitions of "planta", "plantago" and "plantarium" in Lewis and Short's Latin-English Dictionary. See "planta" at Latin-Dictionary.net.
5. C. Michael Hogan (2008). Morro Creek, ed. by A. Burnham.
6. Renton, Marlow; Biggane, Eric (2020). Foraging Pocket Guide (2020 ed.). Wild Food UK. ISBN 978-1-9999222-2-1.
7. Nyerges, Christopher (2016). Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-4930-1499-6.
8. Samuelsen, Anne Berit (July 2000). "The traditional uses, chemical constituents and biological activities of Plantago major L. A review". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 77 (1–2): 1–21. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(00)00212-9. ISSN 0378-8741. PMC 7142308. PMID 10904143.
9. Journal of the American Medical Association. Vol. 1. 1883. p. 118.
10. Angier, Bradford (1974). Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-8117-0616-8. OCLC 799792.
11. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. United States Department of the Army. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
12. Sangwan et al. (2011). Mucilages and their Pharmaceutical Applications: an Overview. Pharmacology Online 2: 1265–1271.
13. Ramírez-Restrepo, C. and T. Barry (2005). "Alternative temperate forages containing secondary compounds for improving sustainable productivity in grazing ruminants", Animal Feed Science and Technology, 120(3-4), 179–201.
14. Lourenço, M., G. Van Ranst, B. Vlaeminck, S. De Smet, and V. Fievez (2008). "Influence of different dietary forages on the fatty acid composition of rumen digesta as well as ruminant meat and milk", Animal Feed Science and Technology, 145(1-4), 418–437.

External links

 

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Plantain".

•   Media related to Plantago at Wikimedia Commons
•   Data related to Plantago at Wikispecies
• Common Plantain, from Mrs. Grieve's herbal
• Medicinal uses of P. major in Armenia
• Additional information about psyllium, including growing procedure and economic value
• Edibility of Plantago: Visual identification and edible parts of wild plantago.