E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Plantago canescens M.F. Adams
arctic plantain (gray pubescent plantain; Siberian plantain)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Plantago canescens
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a stout taproot; stems erect, several, simple, inconspicuously hairy, not furrowed, 5-30 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves narrowly elliptic to oblong or linear, 5-25 cm long, 0.3-2.5 cm wide, entire, 3- to 5-veined; stem leaves lacking.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense bracteate spikes, the spikes elongate, 1.5-8 cm long; corollas greenish, 4-lobed, the lobes 1.5-2 mm long, spreading; bracts egg-shaped, shorter than the sepals, fringed; stamens conspicuous.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, 3-3.5 mm long; seeds 4, elliptic to egg-shaped, brown to black, 1-2 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic meadows, grassy slopes and roadsides in the montane and subalpine zones; rare in SE BC, also frequent just N of 60degreeN in YT; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, disjunct in SW AB and MT; E Asia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Additional Notes

"The family Plantaginaceae includes three genera and an estimated 250-275 species from diverse habitats throughout the world (Pilger 1937). In Canada, the family is represented by two genera containing seven introduced species and ten native species (Bassett 1973).

References

Bassett, I. John. 1973. The Plantains of Canada. Monograph No. 7. Canada Department of Agriculture.

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S2	Red	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Plantago canescens var. cylindrica (Macoun) Boivin
Plantago septata Morris ex Rydb.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-13 5:43:35 AM ]

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