Redseed plantain

Description

Plantago rhodosperma is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family known by the common names redseed plantain and redseed indianwheat. It is native to the Great Plains and Southwest of the United States. This species is an annual herb growing from a taproot. The leaves are lance-shaped and may reach 35 centimeters long, but are usually smaller. The leaves are gray-green and lightly hairy. The inflorescence is a narrow spike up to 20 centimeters long. Each small flower produces two red or reddish black seeds. This species is planted to provide a forage and to revegetate wildlife habitat and rangeland. The seed provides food for many types of game birds and the foliage is consumed by several types of animals, such as deer. Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall. The leaves are sessile or have a poorly-defined petiole. They have three or five parallel veins that diverge in the wider part of the leaf. Leaves are broad or narrow, depending on the species. The inflorescences are borne on stalks typically 5–40 cm (2.0–15.7 in) tall, and can be a short cone or a long spike, with numerous tiny wind-pollinated flowers. They are found all over the world, including the Americas, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Europe. Many species in the genus are cosmopolitan weeds. They are found in many different habitats, most commonly in wet areas like seepages or bogs. They can also be found in alpine and semi-alpine or coastal areas. The cosmopolitan weeds can be frequently seen at the side of roads. The boundaries of the genus Plantago have been fairly stable, with the main question being whether to include Bougueria (one species from the Andes) and Littorella (2–3 species of aquatic plants).