Plantain Family (Plantaginaceæ)
(A) Common Plantain (Plantago major) is a very familiar weed about ill-kept dooryards. The leaves are large and spreading; broad-oblong, on long, troughed stems that radiate from the root.
The flower stalk rises to about the same height as the next, but the flower-head is very long. The tiny white flowers open in circles about this head, slowly making their way toward the top in their succession of bloom, which lasts from June until September.
(B) English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata). The leaves all radiate from the base; they are lanceolate, sharply pointed, and set on long, troughed stems.
The flower stem is stiff and smooth and attains heights of 6 to 18 inches. The head is short and studded with tiny, four-parted, dull-white flowers, with long, slender stamens. There are often perfect staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant. It is now as abundant in all parts of our range as it is in its native European home.