Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
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Plantago lanceolata
Lamb's tongues, Plantain, Ribwort, Ribwort plantain, Ribgrass
Plantaginaceae
Pastures, disturbed sites, and gardens. Widespread and common.
Introduced annual or biennial herb with a persistent taproot. Flower stalks to 0.5 m high, longitudinally ridged, hairy with short hairs. Leaves in a basal rosette, 7–30 cm long, 10–40 mm wide, with 5-7 longitudinal veins, hairy, margins with a few minute teeth or entire, tips pointed. Flowers tubular, the tube 1.5–3 mm long, with 4 lobes 1.5–2.5 mm long, spreading or turned down. Sepals 2.5–4.5 mm long. Sepal-like bracts just beneath the flowers 3–5 mm long. Flower spike oval initially, becoming cylindrical, 10–120 mm long, dense. Flowering: chiefly September–April.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Plantago~lanceolata (accessed 1 February, 2021)
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