Plantago cretica

Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago cretica is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common name Cretan plantain.

Description and Biology

It is a tumbleweed,^[1] densely tufted annual plant. The leaves are in basal rosette, entire, narrow-linear and woolly, upright, to 15 cm. The inflorescences and short flowering stalks are densely creamy to brown-hairy, curling downwards after flowering to form a dense mass at the base of the plant. Flowering from March to May.^[2]

Habitat

Dry, sandy and rocky soils.

Distribution

This Mediterranean species is native to Greece (Aegean islands and Crete), Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey. It has been introduced in Australia.

References

1. W. F. Ganong (1896). "An outline of phytobiology". Bulletin of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick. 13: 3–26, page 1 errata. page 16
2. "Wonders at our feet". 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[1]