Plantago facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Plantago |
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| Greater plantain (Plantago major) | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Tribe: | Plantagineae |
| Genus: | Plantago L. |
| Subgenera | |
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Plantago |
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| Synonyms | |
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Psyllium Mill. |
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Plantago is a group of about 200 different kinds of flowering plants. They are often called plantains or fleaworts. But be careful! The name "plantain" is also used for a type of cooking banana, which is a completely different plant. Most Plantago plants are herbaceous plants, meaning they have soft stems. A few are small subshrubs that can grow up to about 60 centimeters (2 feet) tall.
Contents
What Do Plantains Look Like?
The leaves of plantains usually grow directly from the stem or have very short stalks. They have three or five main veins that run side-by-side, like lines on a ruler. The leaves can be wide or narrow, depending on the specific type of plantain.
The flowers grow on tall stalks, usually between 5 and 40 centimeters (2 to 16 inches) high. These stalks can have many tiny flowers packed together, forming a short cone or a long spike. The wind helps to spread the flowers' pollen.
Different Kinds of Plantains
There are about 200 different kinds of Plantago plants around the world. Scientists generally agree on which plants belong to this group. Here are some examples:
- Plantago afra
- Plantago africana
- Plantago aitchisonii
- Plantago alpina
- Plantago amplexicaulis
- Plantago arborescens
- Plantago arenaria—Branched plantain
- Plantago argentea
- Plantago aristata—Bracted plantain, largebracted plantain
- Plantago asiatica—Chinese plantain, obako, arnoglossa
- Plantago aucklandica
- Plantago bigelovii
- Plantago canescens
- Plantago coreana
- Plantago cordata—Heartleaf plantain
- Plantago coronopus—Buckshorn plantain
- Plantago cornuti
- Plantago cretica
- Plantago cynops
- Plantago debilis—Shade plantain, weak plantain
- Plantago elongata—Prairie plantain, slender plantain
- Plantago erecta—California plantain, foothill plantain, dot-seed plantain, English plantain, dwarf plantain
- Plantago eriopoda—Redwool plantain
- Plantago erosa
- Plantago fernandezia
- Plantago fischeri
- Plantago gentianoides
- Plantago glabrifolia
- Plantago grayana
- Plantago hawaiensis—Hawaiian plantain
- Plantago hedleyi
- Plantago helleri—Heller's plantain
- Plantago heterophylla
- Plantago hillebrandii
- Plantago himalaica
- Plantago holosteum
- Plantago hookeriana—Hookers plantain, tallow weed, California plantain
- Plantago incisa
- Plantago indica
- Plantago krajinai
- Plantago lagopus—Hare's foot plantain
- Plantago lanceolata—Ribwort plantain
- Plantago lanigera
- Plantago leiopetala—Madeira plantain
- Plantago longissima
- Plantago macrocarpa
- Plantago major—Greater plantain, common plantain
- Plantago maritima—Sea plantain
- Plantago maxima
- Plantago media—Hoary plantain
- Plantago melanochrous
- Plantago moorei—Moore's plantain
- Plantago musicola
- Plantago nivalis
- Plantago nubicola (also known as Bougueria nubicola)
- Plantago obconica
- Plantago ovata—Indian wheat, blond psyllium
- Plantago pachyphylla
- Plantago palmata
- Plantago patagonica—Woolly plantain
- Plantago polysperma
- Plantago princeps
- Plantago purshii—Woolly plantain
- Plantago pusilla
- Plantago psyllium—Sand plantain, French or dark psyllium
- Plantago raoulii
- Plantago rapensis
- Plantago remota
- Plantago reniformis
- Plantago rhodosperma—Redseed plantain, redseed indianwheat
- Plantago rigida
- Plantago robusta
- Plantago rugelii—Blackseed plantain
- Plantago rupicola
- Plantago schneideri
- Plantago sempervirens
- Plantago sparsiflora
- Plantago spathulata
- Plantago subnuda—Tall coastal plantain
- Plantago tanalensis
- Plantago taqueti
- Plantago tenuiflora
- Plantago triandra
- Plantago triantha
- Plantago tweedyi
- Plantago virginica—Virginia plantain, paleseed plantain
- Plantago winteri
- Plantago wrightiana—Wright's plantain
Where Does the Name "Plantago" Come From?
The name Plantago comes from an old Latin word, plantago. This word was used for some types of plantains, like the common Plantago major. In Latin, planta means "sole of the foot". The name was chosen because the leaves of these plants often grow flat on the ground, like a footprint. The ending -ago in Latin means "a kind of".
Where Do Plantains Grow?
You can find plantains all over the world! They grow in the Americas, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Europe. Many types of plantains are considered "cosmopolitan weeds." This means they grow almost everywhere, often in places where humans have disturbed the soil.
Plantains can live in many different places. They often like wet areas, such as bogs or places where water seeps out of the ground. You can also find them in mountains, semi-mountain areas, or near the coast. The common "weed" types are often seen growing along the sides of roads.
Plantains and Animals
Plantains are an important food source for the larvae (caterpillars) of some Lepidoptera species. This group includes many different kinds of butterfly and moths.
How People Use Plantains
People have been using plantains as food for a very long time, even before history was written down! For example, people living along California's Central Coast used this plant as food thousands of years ago.
The types of plantains with broad leaves can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. You can put them in salads or use them to make green sauces. Young, tender plantain leaves can be eaten raw. Older leaves can be cooked. The seeds of the plant can even be cooked like rice.
Plantago species have also been used as herbal remedies for a very long time. The plant is known to help with different things. For example, a poultice (a soft, moist mass of leaves) made from the leaves can be put on insect bites, rashes, small sores, and boils. Some old stories even say it could cure snakebites!
People also use plantains internally. A tea, tincture, or syrup made from the leaves can be used for coughs and bronchitis. Tea from the leaves might also help with diarrhea.
The husks of plantain seeds, especially from P. psyllium, get very gooey when wet. This gooey substance is called mucilaginous. These seed husks are used in some common products that help with digestion and add fiber to your diet. For example, psyllium is often sold as a fiber supplement. It is used in traditional medicine in some cultures to help with various digestive issues. Psyllium supplements are usually taken as a powder mixed with water or juice.
In some countries like Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Russia, people use leaves from Plantago major as a folk remedy. They put the leaves on cuts and scratches to help prevent infection because the plant has properties that fight germs. In Slovenia and other parts of Central Europe, people traditionally used the leaves on blisters caused by things like tight shoes.
Plantains in Culture
In old English, the plantain was called Wegbrade. It was one of nine important plants mentioned in an ancient pagan Anglo-Saxon poem called the Nine Herbs Charm, which was written down in the 10th century.
Gallery
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Plantago alpina
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Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
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Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
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Plantago nivalis
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Ribwort plantain flower spike
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Buckshorn plantain (Plantago coronopus)
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Plantago media stepposa
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Plantago maritima
See also
In Spanish: Llantenes para niños
