Psyllium plantain
Plantago afra
Family · Plantaginaceae · Harmless
The plantain that makes no rosette: a small branched plant with narrow leaves along the stem and small oval heads at the top. The seeds are the psyllium of pharmacies, and look like fleas, which is where the name comes from.
Fields and pasture · Roadsides and waste ground · Dunes and sand · Scrubland
Also known asfleawort, psyllium
How to tell it
A plant ten to thirty centimetres tall, branched and covered in glandular hairs that make it sticky to touch. Narrow opposite leaves along the stem, unlike all other Peninsular plantains, which have a basal rosette. Short oval heads on long stalks.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
The seeds are one of the historical sources of psyllium, a mucilaginous fibre traditionally used to regulate bowel transit and still sold in pharmacies. Traditional and industrial use, never improvised gathering in the field.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.