Plantago L.
Fls mostly perfect in heads or cylindrical spikes, sts reduced to a single fl. Stamens inserted on corolla-tube, ovules 2 to many. Capsule circumscissile, 1- to many-seeded. Terrestrial herbs; bases of petioles including tufts of long woolly or silky hairs in many spp. Mostly protogynous and wind-pollinated. About 200 spp. mostly in temperate regions. N.Z. spp. endemic except 2; several widespread European spp. are thoroughly naturalized.
Key
Size of both lvs and spikes depends greatly on growing conditions and there is us. a wide range within each sp.
Pilger (Pflanzenr. 102, 1937, 16) regards the number of seeds (and their form) as one of the most important characters for systematic classification, and ovule-number takes a prominent place in his key to subgenera and sections. Dowling (J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) 50, 1936, 323-336) shows that in the British spp. seed-numbers are rather inconstant. No detailed studies have been made in N.Z., but number and arrangement of ovules are good characters for certain groups at least, e.g. P. raoulii (Sect. Mesembrynia) differs from all other N.Z. spp. in its 5 characteristically placed ovules, and P. triandra (Sect. Microcalyx) alone has often 20, sts 30-50 ovules.
