Family: plantains (Plantaginaceae)
Flowering time: June–September
Size: 10–50 cm
Habitat: cultivated meadows, road verges and other ruderal habitats
The erect lanceolate leaves of the narrow-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata) form a compact basal rosette. Leaves with three to seven veins are up to 30 cm long and 7 to 30 mm wide. During flowering the leaves are hairy, then they become bare. At the top of the flowering stem numerous sessile flowers form an inflorescence – a spike. The four-lobed brown flowers are small, almost inconspicuous. However, the white stamens are all the more conspicuous, protruding from the spike. This spike can be short, round, or elongated-oval, but never wider than 9 mm. Narrow-leaved plantain is a well-known medicinal plant and has long been used to relieve a wide range of ailments.
In Slovenia it is very common and widely distributed across meadows on fresh, nutrient-rich soils.
