Plantago subnuda
Encyclopedia
Plantago subnuda is a species of plantain
known by the common name tall coastal plantain. It is native to western North America from the west coast of the United States to west-central Mexico, where it grows in wet and moist habitat types, often in coastal areas, such as marsh
land. It is a perennial herb producing few oval leaves around a thick caudex
. The broad smooth-edged or slightly toothed leaves may be up to 40 centimeters long. The stemlike inflorescence
s grow erect to a maximum height near half a meter. Atop the peduncle
of the inflorescence is a dense cylindrical spike of many tiny flowers. Each flower has a corolla of ephemeral petals about 3 millimeters long.
Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
known by the common name tall coastal plantain. It is native to western North America from the west coast of the United States to west-central Mexico, where it grows in wet and moist habitat types, often in coastal areas, such as marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
land. It is a perennial herb producing few oval leaves around a thick caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
. The broad smooth-edged or slightly toothed leaves may be up to 40 centimeters long. The stemlike inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s grow erect to a maximum height near half a meter. Atop the peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
of the inflorescence is a dense cylindrical spike of many tiny flowers. Each flower has a corolla of ephemeral petals about 3 millimeters long.