''Plantago major'', the broadleaf plantain, white man's footprint, waybread, or greater plantain, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the plantain family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

. The plant is native to Eurasia. The young, tender leaves can be eaten raw, and the older, stringier leaves can be boiled in stews and eaten.

Description

''Plantago major'' is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

with a rosette of

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, exceptionally , in diameter.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Each leaf is oval-shaped, long and broad, rarely up to long and broad, with an acute apex, a smooth margin, and a distinct petiole almost as long as the leaf itself. There are five to nine conspicuous veins over the length of the leaf. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are small, greenish-brown with purple

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, produced in a dense spike long on top of a stem tall and rarely to tall. Plantain is

wind-pollinated Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including Poaceae, grasses, Cyperaceae, sedges, and Juncaceae, rushes. ...

and propagates primarily by seeds, which are held on the long, narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage. Each plant can produce up to 20,000 seeds, which are very small and oval-shaped, with a bitter taste.

Taxonomy

Broadleaf plantain is not closely related to the fruit also known as plantain, which is a kind of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

. There are three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: *''Plantago major'' subsp. ''major''. *''Plantago major'' subsp. ''intermedia'' (DC.) Arcang. *''Plantago major'' subsp. ''winteri'' (Wirtg.) W.Ludw.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and northern and central

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

,Natural History Museum
''Plantago major''
/ref>''Flora Europaea''
''Plantago major''
/ref>''Flora of Pakistan''
''Plantago major''
/ref> but has widely naturalised elsewhere in the world.Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Greater Plantain ''Plantago major'' Linnaeus
/ref>Botanical Society of Britain and Irelan

''Plantago major'' grows in lawns and fields, along roadsides, and in other areas that have been disturbed by humans. It does particularly well in compacted or disturbed soils. It is believed to be one of the first plants to reach

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

after European colonisation. Reportedly brought to the Americas by Puritan colonizers, plantain was known among some Native American peoples by the common name "white man's footprint", because it thrived in the disturbed and damaged ecosystems surrounding European settlements. The ability of plantain to survive frequent trampling and colonize compacted soils makes it important for soil rehabilitation. Its roots break up

hardpan In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or soil pan is a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer ...

surfaces, while simultaneously holding together the soil to prevent

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. The seeds of plantain are a common contaminant in

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

grain and other crop seeds. As a result, it now has a worldwide distribution.

Uses

The mature plant contains pliable and tough fibres that can be used in survival situations to make small cords,

fishing line A fishing line is any flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed att ...

, sutures, or braiding. Some

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s are planted as ornamentals in

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, including 'Rubrifolia' with purple leaves, and 'Variegata' with variegated leaves.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''.

Edibility

The leaves are edible as a salad green when young and tender, but they quickly become tough and fibrous as they get older. The older leaves can be cooked in stews. The seeds are so small that they are tedious to gather, but they can be ground into a flour substitute or extender.

Herbal medicine

Plantain contains

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s including

allantoin Allantoin is a chemical compound with formula C4H6N4O3. It is also called 5-ureidohydantoin or glyoxyldiureide. It is a diureide of glyoxylic acid. Allantoin is a major metabolic intermediate in most organisms including animals, plants and bacter ...

, aucubin, ursolic acid,

flavonoids Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

, and asperuloside. Plantain extract has been studied for its potential health effects. Plantain leaves were used commonly in

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

for skin

poultice A poultice or cataplasm, also called a fomentation, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, promote healing, or otherwise treat wounds or ailments. Soft materials like cer ...

s on wounds, sores, or insect stings. The root was used for fever and respiratory infections.

Gallery

File:Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) growing in crack in sidewalk.JPG, Growing in crack in sidewalk File:Plantago major flowers crop 01.jpg, Close-up of reduced, grass-like flowers File:Plantago major 05 ies.jpg, Developing fruits File:Purple Plantago major.JPG, Cultivar 'Rubrifolia'

References

External links

* {{Authority control Flora of the Dominican Republic

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Flora of Europe Demulcents Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Leaf vegetables Plants used in traditional Native American medicine