Plantaginaceae

Abstract

Herbs or occasionally small shrubs, terrestrial (to aquatic). Leaves mostly all basal and alternate, rarely cauline and alternate or opposite, simple or rarely pinnately nerved and lobed, often sheathing at the base, hairs present in the leaf axils; blade phyllodial and more or less parallel-veined, usually entire, linear, lanceolate, oblanceolate, ovate, or orbicular, sometimes succulent. Flowers in spikes or heads, rarely solitary, bracteate or ebracteate, small, mostly actinomorphic and perfect, usually protogynous and wind-pollinated; sepals (3)4(5), imbricate, gamosepalous or partially so, calyx lobes unequal in Plantago subg. Bougueria; petals 4(5), gamopetalous; stamens (1)4, adnate to the corolla,opposite the calyx lobes, filaments mostly long; anthers versatile, introrse, dehiscing via longitudinal slits. Gynoecium bicarpellate, syncarpous, style 1, stigma usually 2- lobed, often plumose; ovary superior, mostly bilocular; placentation axile with 2–50 ovules or basal with one ovule (Plantago subg. Bougueria and subg. Littorella); ovules unitegmic, tenuinucellate. Fruit a capsule or nut, capsules circumscissile; seeds straight or rarely curved, concave, mostly small, endosperm abundant.