Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Plantago varia
Common name
Variable plantain
Family
Plantaginaceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, and grassy areas. Widespread.
Notes
Perennial herb with a persistent and often stout taproot. Flower stalks to 0.25 m high, hairy, not ridged. Leaves in a basal rosette, mostly 4-25 cm long, 5-25 mm wide, 5-10 times as long as wide, hairy, thin-textured, with 3-5 longitudinal veins, margins usually toothed with conspicuous teeth, tips pointed or blunt. Tufts of reddish brown hairs at the bases of the leaves. Flowers tubular, with 4 lobes each 1.5-2.3 mm long, spreading or curved down. Sepals 2.8-3.5 mm long. Sepal-like bracts just beneath the flowers 2.8–3.5 mm long, with hairy keels. Flowers in green to brown cylindrical spikes 30-150 mm long. Flowers most of the year.
Possibly intergrades with Plantago antarctica in the Brindabella Range, ACT.
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~varia (accessed 1 February, 2021)
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