Perennial plantain plant species
The plantain plant is a genus of annual or perennial grasses, which has more than one and a half hundred species. This herb is often considered an unremarkable weed.
Description of perennial plantain
The plant got its name due to the fact that it is most often found near roads. The seeds cling to the shoes of passing people and travel with them.
The plantain plant grows everywhere
Characteristic:
- short rhizome with thin cordlike roots;
- petiole leaves are collected in a basal rosette;
- long, erect peduncles;
- small, inconspicuous flowers, collected in a spikelet;
- the fruit is a box with seeds.
The plant is very unpretentious and multiplies quickly.
Common types of plantain:
- Large. Perennial. Introduced into culture due to its medicinal properties. Large leaves are oval in shape, peduncles reach a height of 30-45 cm.
- Flea. Plant height – 20−35 cm. Leaves are linear. Small flowers are collected in round heads. It is used as a medicinal raw material.
- Nautical. Perennial plant with sharp linear leaves of gray-green color. Used in cooking for salads.
- Lanceolate. The plant is 59 cm tall with long lanceolate leaves. Floral arrows are formed directly from the root rosette. Used in folk medicine.
- Sandy. Annual. It has a branchy woolly stem. Seeds and grass are used as medicinal raw materials or for formulating dry compositions.
- Deerhorn. Grown in many countries as an annual vegetable. Forms a lush root rosette of succulent leaves, similar to other salad crops. Its serrated leaves, young shoots and flowers are used to prepare delicious vitamin salads, soups, side dishes and casseroles.
- Snowy. It is remarkable for its beautiful greenish-silvery leaves. It grows well in rocky places – an alpine hill, between the slabs of the paths. The maximum height is 10 cm.
Of the cultivated species, the purple plantain is worth noting. This decorative form is derived from the large plantain. Its beautiful leaves have a rich, bright purple color. The plant blooms in late spring – early summer and looks good in flower gardens and alpine hills. The grass propagates easily by self-sowing.
Plantain is a simple plant that can be grown for medicinal, decorative and culinary purposes.