PLANTAIN FAMILY (Plantaginaceae)
TALLOW-WEED RED-SEEDED PLANTAIN
Herbs; leaves basal; calyx 4-lobed; corolla papery, 3-4-lobed; stamens 4, on corolla-tube; capsule (in ours) opening by a horizontal division.
Tallow-Weed. Wright’s Plantain (Plantago wrightiana) is a common plant on prairies from Texas to Arizona and blooms from April to June. It is called tallow-weed because cattle fatten on the plants. The stems are 6-8 in. high, and the numerous basal leaves are half as long, narrow, smooth, and dark green. The small 4-lobed flowers have a stiff, papery white corolla with spreading lobes. The small capsules open by a lid.
Red-Seeded Plantain or Ribwort (Plantago rhodosperma) has broad leaves, 3-5-ribbed, and narrow spikes of flowers. The leaf-rosettes are often a foot broad. The corolla lobes are erect and are closed over one another. The ribwort is a very common weed in sandy soil from Missouri to Texas and Arizona.
There are many other plantains in the state, all more or less abundant. The group has retained the old Latin name. Scilla-seed, a laxative in recent use, is obtained from a South American plantain. The seeds of the lance-leaved plantain are sold as food for birds.
MADDER FAMILY (Rubiaceae)
SMALL BLUET LEAST BLUET