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

Plantago maritima L.
Seaside Plantain (Alaska plantain; Common Plantain; goose tongue; sea plantain)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Dave Ingram  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #2662)

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Distribution of Plantago maritima
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial (rarely annual) herb from a sometimes woolly, short-branched crown and a taproot; stems ascending to erect, several, simple or rarely short branched, smooth or spreading-hairy, 5-25 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lanceolate or more often linear, 12-22 cm long, tapering gradually into the winged stalks, entire or irregularly short-toothed, smooth or slightly hairy, 3- to 5 (7)-veined; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense or lax, bracteate spikes, 2-10 cm long; corollas greenish, hairy outside, 4-lobed, the lobes 1-1.5 mm long, spreading; bracts broadly egg-shaped, shorter than the flowers, minutely fringed; stamens conspicuous.
Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped to broadly conic, 3-4 mm long; seeds 2-4, ellipsoid, about 2 mm long, brown or black, flat on the inner surface.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Salt marshes and coastal beaches in the lowland zone; common along the coast, rare inland in NW BC (Mess Lake Mineral Springs); coastal N America and S America.

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.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Plantago maritima

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 0 4 70
Slope Gradient (%) 0 15 120
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
54 31 359
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 5 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
28
Modal BEC Zone Class
CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CWH(28)

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References