Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Plantago hispida
Hairy Plantain
Plantaginaceae
Open forest, rock crevices, shallow soils, and mossy soil on rock outcrops. Often near the sea. Widespread.
Perennial herb to about 0.35 m high, with a persistent and often stout taproot. Flower stalks mostly to 0.3 m long, hairy. Leaves in a basal rosette, mostly 4–9 cm long, 3–15 mm wide, usually hairy, with 1-5 longitudinal veins, margins toothed or almost entire, tips usually blunt. Short white or pale-brown hairs in the axils. Flowers tubular, the tube 1.5–2.5 mm long, with 4 lobes 1.3–1.5 mm long, spreading or turned back. Sepals 2.2–3 mm long. Sepal-like bracts just beneath the flowers 1–3 mm long, with a hairy keel. Flower spike mostly 10–60 mm long, the flowers usually close together. Flowering: Sep.–Mar.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Plantago~hispida (accessed 1 February, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application: