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| English Plantain; Plantago lanceolata L. |
Plantain Family; PLANTAGINACEÆ
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| English Plantain is an evergreen perennial herb of slender, durable nature. Parallel-veined leaves (to 9 by 1 2/3 inches) tuft at ground level. Wiry grooved stems 4 to 36 inches tall are terminated by cylindrical congestions of tiny flowers. These flowers bloom from May until hard frosts, and are wind pollinated. The creamy white stamens ringed daintily around the dark background is a fair sight upon close inspection. Sometimes the flower clusters appear maimed, twisted, contorted, doubled or squat due to mutations or moth-induced galls. Late summer shows many meadows ugly with PlantainŐs very dark green leaves and dry, brown flowerstems, amongst yellowed grasses. Gardens, poor lawns, alleys and other sunny, dryish places also appeal to it. English Plantain is common in lakeside lawns grazed by geese, since the birds prefer grass to it. |
| Various plants are known as "Plantain" either per se or adjectivally: the English one described here is Seattle's most common and best known kind. We may call it our plain plantain. Other names more meaningful than its Latin-derived one include: Ribwort, Ribgrass, and Black Plantain (names taken from the foliage); Buckhorn, Chimney-Sweeps, Hardheads, and Fighting Cocks (from the flower/seed clusters). |
| As a weed, it is neither especially bothersome nor difficult to control. Herbalists use it a bit medicinally, but its value in this respect is overshadowed by some of its cousins. Its tender young leaves, and better yet its short flowerstems prior to their becoming hard, fibrous and bitter, are good added to a salad. Just pluck them into smaller pieces. |
Not closely related to other garden plants (except a couple of weedy kin), Plantains judiciously allowed in our gardens beneficially increase the diversity of plant kinds present, serving as isolated botanical outposts presumably packed with their own unique combination of juices, minerals, enzymes and microorganisms. Thus, this homely, odd, downtrodden weed proves by no means greatly important in any single respect, yet it is a well rounded, middle-of-the-road, take-it-or-leave-it weed. It may be likened to an old pair of shoes: comfortable, tough, ugly, indubitably distinctive, and tending to be despised by everyone except the complacent wearer.
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Originally published as the Seattle Tilth newsletter Weed of the Month in November 1986, along with an illustration drawn by Jerri Geer.
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