General:
Annual or short-lived perennial herb from well-developed taproot; stems erect, solitary, freely branched, hairy, 10-50 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves linear, soon deciduous; stem leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, opposite, stiff-hairy, entire or occasionally slightly toothed, 2-8 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, with several smaller, linear, axillary leaves at each internode.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense bracteate, axillary spikes 0.5-1.5 cm long on stalks 2-8 cm long; corollas 4-lobed, the lobes egg-shaped, reflexed, 1.5-2 mm long; bracts wide, rounded, papery-margined, lowermost leaf-like; stamens conspicuous.

Fruits:
Capsules, broadly-ellipsoid, 3-3.5 mm long; seeds 2, narrowly elliptic, shiny, brown, 2.0-2.5 mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Plantago arenaria Waldst. & Kit.
Plantago indica L.
Plantago scabra Moench

"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.