Latin name: Plantago major
Common name: Greater plantain
Other names: Broad leaf plantain, rat-tail plantain, white man’s foot, Englishman’s foot, plaster leaf, waybread
How to spot it and where to find it: A perennial herb, plantain is most frequently seen on trampled paths and tracks, disturbed field edges and roadsides. It has broad, oval leaves that grow in a rosette, sometimes with very fine, sparse white hairs. Flowers bloom on the end of a tall spike, from May to September, followed by seed. An average plant may produce 14,000 seeds per year.
Interesting facts: Native Americans named the plant ‘white men’s footprints’ because it spread wherever the settlers went — the seeds are sticky when damp so stick to animal fur, clothing and vehicles. It is also commonly known as…
