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Plantago
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ribwort plantain sea plantain
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ribwort plantain
ribwort plantain Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Plantago

plant genus
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Also known as: plantain
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Plantago, a genus in the family Plantaginaceae (order Lamiales) with about 265 species. The small plants usually have a dense tuft of basal leaves and long, leafless stalks bearing a terminal spike of small flowers.

sea plantain
sea plantainSea plantain, or goose tongue (Plantago maritima).

The greater plantain (Plantago major) provides seed spikes for bird food. Ribwort and hoary plantain (P. lanceolata and P. media, respectively) are troublesome weeds. By contrast, psyllium and P. ovata have been useful in medical science; they produce mucilaginous seeds, which have been used, for example, in laxative preparations known as psyllium, ispaghul, or spogel seeds.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.