Plantago canescens
Nouv. Mém. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 9: 233, plate 13, fig. 1. 1834.
Perennials; caudex usually woolly; roots taproots, thick. Stems 0–20 mm. Leaves ascending, 180–250 × 6–20 mm; blade linear to lanceolate or oblanceolate, margins entire, rarely toothed, veins conspicuous, surfaces glabrate or hairy, hairs 1 mm. Scapes 50–230 mm, not groove-angled, hairy or glabrous. Spikes grayish or whitish, 80–350 mm, usually densely flowered, shiny; corolla lobes of neighboring flowers often overlapping; bracts broadly ovate, 1.8–2 mm, length 0.9–1 times sepals. Flowers: sepals 2 mm, adaxial 2 nearly distinct; corolla radially symmetric, lobes reflexed, 2 mm, base obtuse; stamens 4. Seeds 3–7, 1–1.8 mm. 2n = 12.
Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Grassy, gravelly, and rocky slopes, cliffs.
Elevation: 0–2000 m.
Distribution
Alta., B.C., N.W.T., Nunavut, Yukon, Alaska, Mont., Asia.
Discussion
N. N. Tzvelev (1983) recognized six subspecies (including two in North America) within Plantago canescens; North American material is not segregated as such here.
Selected References
None.