Flora of New Zealand Series

narrow-leaved plantain

Perennial herb with persistent taproot. Lvs all radical, rosulate, hairy; petiole 1-7-(20) cm long, channelled, with silky white tuft of hairs and often purplish at base. Lamina 2-20 × 0.5-4.8 cm, linear-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic, 3-7-veined, glabrate or hairy, especially on the veins beneath, sometimes villous when young and sometimes remaining ± villous, entire or slightly toothed; base attenuate to the ill-defined petiole; apex acute to short-acuminate. Scape 12-70 cm long, sparsely to densely clothed in antrorse hairs, strongly ribbed. Spike very congested, to c. 6 cm long, ± oblong, occasionally infl. capitate, sometimes with short subsidiary spikes near base. Bracts 3-6 mm long, acuminate; keel green, the upper part of bract otherwise brown. Sepals (2.3)-2.7-3.5 mm long, unequal with anterior pair fused; midrib green, often hairy; upper part otherwise brown; margin usually membranous. Corolla tube = calyx; lobes c. 2 mm long, ovate, patent or reflexed, concave. Stamens glabrous, exserted. Styles exserted, occasionally to 15 mm long, densely hairy. Capsule usually 2.5-3.5 mm long, ellipsoid, (1)-2-seeded. Seeds 2-3 mm long, ellipsoid, medium to dark brown; inner surface concave, with involute margin.

N.; S.; St.; common to abundant throughout; K., Ch., C.

Eurasia 1855

Generally open modified places, particularly poor pastures, also a pioneer of river beds, landslips, coastal sands and talus, and cliff faces, common on many small offshore islands and often in remote coastal areas where very few other naturalised spp. occur.

FL Jul-Apr.

Narrow-leaved plantain or ribwort is notable for its variability and a number of infraspecific taxa have been recognised overseas, but it is not practical to do this in N.Z. In some dry inland areas of the South Id, small, ± villous plants with almost globular infls occur; these resemble var. sphaerostachya Mert. et Koch, but there are transitional forms between them and more typical P. lanceolata. Another feature of the sp. in N.Z. is the presence of plants with either white or yellow anthers, both forms being common. There is a low frequency of freak scapes; these commonly have multiple heads, sometimes in globose clusters, or umbels subtended by ordinary lvs. Fasciation of scape and spike are not uncommon, resulting in a large flattened infl.