Ribwort - introduced (*Plantago lanceolata)
Other names: Flat Weed, Soldiers, Common Plantain.
Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain family).
Native of Europe and Asia.
Occurrence: Ribwort is one of the most abundant and widespread weeds of the Central Goldfields. It is a very common lawn weed, and grows on roadsides, farmland and waste places, and in otherwise native vegetation.
Identification:
- the leaves grow from a central rosette
- the leaves are not toothed, and have about five distinct veins
- the flowers are closely clustered into an oval to cylindrical head
- the anthers are conspicuously stalked
- the flowering stalks are on a long stem which is ribbed.
Ribwort often has unusual growth, such as the growth of leaves above the flowers.
It has sometimes been called “White Man’s Foot”, from its habit of appearing as a weed following European settlement in foreign countries.
Similar species: Several other plantains are common. Greater Plantain is found in wet areas. It has much broader, and usually much larger leaves. Buck’s-horn Plantain has toothed leaves, and a longer flower cluster. The native Variable Plantain is a common plant of the box-ironbark forests. It has toothed leaves, and the flower cluster is interrupted by gaps.
The anthers are a conspicuous part of the flower clusters. The flowering stem is ribbed. Castlemaine.
