Broadleaf plantain
Plantago major
Family · Plantaginaceae · Harmless
The broad-leaved rosette growing in the middle of trodden paths, exactly where nothing else survives. It followed Europeans across the world stuck to their boots, which is why several Native American languages call it white man's footprint.
Town and roadside · Fields and pasture · Roadsides and waste ground · Streams and ditches
Also known asgreater plantain, white man's footprint
How to tell it
Broad oval leaves in a ground-hugging rosette, with five to nine strongly raised parallel veins and a distinct stalk almost as long as the blade. A long, thin green spike, much longer than ribwort plantain's.
What it is confused with
Ribwort plantain
Plantago lanceolata
Leaf width: broad and oval here, narrow and long on the other. Both edible and with the same use.
What it is for
Young leaves eaten cooked, and the same external use on stings and wounds as ribwort plantain, across Europe. The seeds are mucilaginous and served as a mild laxative.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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