Northern Beaches FloraBaby Sun Rose Blowfly Grass (Briza maxima) Bottlebrushes Coastal Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica) Cyathea cooperi Grevillea ‘Peaches and Cream’ Grevillea Poorinda Royal Mantle Native Violet Norfolk Pine Ochna Pigface Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) Scurvy Weed Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) is native to Eurasia, and is now found growing in various countries around the world including Australia.
A common weed, it is often found on cultivated or disturbed land and gardens.
Considered an environmental weed in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, Plantago lanceolata has become widely naturalised in southern and eastern Australia, stretching from eastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, parts of South Australia, south-western Western Australia, Tasmania and parts of the Northern Territory.
Aa rosette-forming perennial herb, with a leafless, silky, hairy flower stems (that can be 10–40 cm tall). The flower stalk is deeply furrowed, ending in an ovoid inflorescence of many small flowers each with a pointed bract. The individual inflorescence can produce up to two hundred seeds. The basal leaves are lanceolate spreading or erect, scarcely toothed with 3-5 strong parallel veins narrowed to a short petiole.
Common name
Ribwort Plantain, Common Plantain, Narrowleaf Plantain, English Plantain, Buckhorn, Lamb’s Tongue, and Ribleaf.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Tracheophyta
- Subphylum: Angiospermae
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Lamiales
- Family: Plantaginaceae
- Tribe: Plantagineae
- Genus: Plantago
- Subgenus: Psyllium
- Section: Lanceifolia
- Species: Plantago lanceolata
Footnote & References
- Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), iNaturalistAU, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53178-Plantago-lanceolata
- Plantago lanceolata L., Common Plaintain, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2899343
- Plantago lanceolata L., PlantNET, New SOuth Wales Flora Online, https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=sp&name=Plantago~lanceolata
- Plantago lanceolata L., Weeds of Australia, https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/plantago_lanceolata.htm
Northern Beaches FloraBaby Sun Rose Blowfly Grass (Briza maxima) Bottlebrushes Coastal Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica) Cyathea cooperi Grevillea ‘Peaches and Cream’ Grevillea Poorinda Royal Mantle Native Violet Norfolk Pine Ochna Pigface Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) Scurvy Weed Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Northern BeachesNorthern Beaches Fauna Northern Beaches Flora
New South WalesBarunguba Montague Island Bourke Blue Mountains Bundeena Central Coast Kosciuszko National Park Mount Kaputar National Park Lower North Shore Northern Beaches Sapphire Coast Snowy Mountains Region South Coast Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden Sydney