Plantago virginica

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Plantago virginica
Plantago virginica 5Dsr 9121.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Plantago
Species:
P. virginica
Binomial name
Plantago virginica
L.
Plantago virginica specimen from the Catawba College Herbarium. Plantago virginica.jpg
Plantago virginica specimen from the Catawba College Herbarium.

Plantago virginica, common names hoary plantain and Virginia plantain, is a species of plant native to North America and introduced in Asia. [1] It is listed as a special concern in Connecticut. [2] The Kiowa use it to make garlands or wreaths for old men to wear around their heads during ceremonial dances as a symbol of health. [3] It is commonly found within the continental United States in the majority of states along coastal areas and on roads, though has become an invasive species to eastern China after its introduction c. 1980. It is an annual plant, blooming around the month of May. [4]

Contents

Description

Plantago virginica is an annual flowering plant that possesses both male and female flowers that are arranged on a spike. The entire plant is often covered in numerous tiny hairs that grow on both the leaves and stem. The habit of P. virginica is low-lying, it grows close to the ground. [5] The seeds of P. virginica are typically of a brown hue. [6] Seeds are typically around 2mm wide in size. Plantago virginica usually to grow less than a thousand meters above sea level. [7]

Taxonomy

The word Plantago is derived from two root words. The first being the Latin word planta, which simply means "flat" and -ago, which refers to a semblance of. So it is in reference to the flat appearance of some of the leaves of species within the genus. [8] Virginica is a word that is related to its provenance and is actually used for numerous species, plant or not. Examples include Crassotrea virginica, [9] Elimia virginica, [10] Itea virginica, [11] and Iris virginica. [12]

Natural habitat

Plantago virginica is native to the southern and eastern states of the United States of America. [13] While in these areas, it tends to prefer soil types with larger grains which limits the areas where it can take root. [14] Plantago virginica can be found in and around most of the continental United States and into Canada. [15]

Invasive nature

In the 1980's Plantago virginica was introduced to China via trade where it has since become an invasive species. Since its introduction in China, P. virginica has begun to develop various traits which make it distinct from its North American variety. [16] Extracts from the plant have impacted various lawn species resulting in phenomenon such as inhibited seed growth, altered growing patterns, and suppressing various mechanisms within co-occurring plants such as root growth. [17] The extra nitrogen found within the soil has helped it thrive in the eastern Chinese environment, leading to a larger general biomass than plants in the United States. [18] Plantago virginica has also begun to out compete local species such as Plantago asiatica due to allocations towards reproduction rather than towards vegetative growth. As a result, P. virginica has been reproducing higher rates than P. asiatica. [19] Plantago virginica has also spread diseases to local plants and is considered a weed of crops. [20]

The invasive population of Plantago virginica has developed several differences from its US phenotype. The Chinese population of the P. virginica tends to germinate before native North American species, but develop reproductive parts such as seeds after the native plant. Furthermore, introduced populations have less phenotypic diversity than native North American selections of P. virginica. [21] Invasive populations of P. virginica also remain dormant in the soil for shorter durations relative to native North American populations. [22]

Culture

Plantago virginica tends to grow in areas with loose and disturbed soil. [23] It tends to prefer disturbed locations such as ditches on the sides roads, gravely patches, and similar locations. [24] Plantago virginica often blooms around the month of May and is considered a spring plant. [25]

Interactions with animals

Plantago virginica can be a food source for small insects such as beetles and weevils. Plantago virginica (as well as other Plantago species) has been found to be dispersed into environments via horse dung and survive through the horse digestive system, allowing it to be dispersed over long ranges. Laws prohibiting horse riding in an area, can have an impact on this form of dispersal. [26]

Related Research Articles

<i>Plantago</i> Genus of flowering plants in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

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 centimetres tall.

<i>Alisma plantago-aquatica</i> Species of plant

Alisma plantago-aquatica, also known as European water-plantain, common water-plantain or mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering aquatic plant widespread across most of Europe and Asia, and apparently spread elsewhere in both the Old and New World.

<i>Plantago major</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago major, the broadleaf plantain, white man's footprint, waybread, or greater plantain, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. The plant is native to Eurasia.

<i>Viola sororia</i> Species of flowering plant genus Viola, in Eudicot family, Violaceae

Viola sororia, known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant that is native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet. Its cultivar 'Albiflora' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. This perennial plant species is distributed in the eastern half of the United States, Canada and a part of Eastern Mexico. Their native habitats are rich, moist woods, and swamps located in the eastern half of the United States and Canada.

<i>Scabiosa atropurpurea</i> Species of flowering plant

Scabiosa atropurpurea, the mourningbride, mournful widow, pincushion flower, or sweet scabious, is an ornamental plant of the genus Scabiosa in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is native to southern Europe.

<i>Plantago ovata</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago ovata, known by many common names including blond plantain, desert Indianwheat, blond psyllium, and ispagol, is native to the Mediterranean region and naturalized in central, eastern, and south Asia and North America.

<i>Oenothera fruticosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera fruticosa, the narrowleaf evening primrose or narrow-leaved sundrops, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family.

<i>Alisma gramineum</i> Species of plant

Alisma gramineum is a small aquatic plant in the water-plantain family. It has several common names including narrowleaf water-plantain, ribbonleaf water-plantain or ribbon-leaved water-plantain, and grass-leaved water-plantain. It grows in mud or submerged in shallow fresh or brackish water in marshy areas.

<i>Itea virginica</i> Species of tree

Itea virginica, commonly known as Virginia willow or Virginia sweetspire, is a small North American flowering shrub that grows in low-lying woods and wetland margins. Virginia willow is a member of the Iteaceae family, and native to the southeast United States. Itea virginica has small flowers on pendulous racemes.

<i>Andropogon glomeratus</i> Species of plant

Andropogon glomeratus is a species of grass known by the common names bushy bluestem and bushy beardgrass. This bunchgrass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It has also naturalized in other areas.

<i>Itea</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Itea is a genus of about 10 species of shrubs and small trees, commonly called sweetspires. The leaves are alternate. Flowers are small, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, borne in racemes or spikes.

<i>Veronica serpyllifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica serpyllifolia, the thyme-leaved speedwell or thymeleaf speedwell, is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to Europe, but can be found elsewhere on most continents as an introduced species.

<i>Peltandra virginica</i> Species of aquatic plant

Peltandra virginica is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba. It is common in central Florida including the Everglades and along the Gulf Coast. Its rhizomes are tolerant to low oxygen levels found in wetland soils. It can be found elsewhere in North America as an introduced species and often an invasive plant.

<i>Ilex cornuta</i> Species of holly

Ilex cornuta, commonly known as Chinese holly or horned holly, is a slow-growing, densely foliaged evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae plant family. It is native to eastern China and Korea and attains a height of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are usually 5-spined, between 3.5 cm and 10 cm long, oblong and entire. The fruits are red berries, which are larger than those of the European Holly.

<i>Plantago rugelii</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago rugelii is an edible species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is native to North America, where it occurs in eastern Canada and the central and eastern United States. Its common names include American plantain, blackseed plantain, pale plantain, and Rugel's plantain. The species name rugelii honors Ferdinand Ignatius Xavier Rugel (1806-1879), a German-born botanist and pharmacist.

<i>Plantago hookeriana</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago hookeriana, commonly called Hookers plantain, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It is native to Texas and Louisiana in the United States. It is typically found in disturbed sandy areas.

<i>Berberis bealei</i> Species of shrub

Berberis bealei, also known as leatherleaf mahonia, Beale's barberry, or Oregon grape, is a species of evergreen shrub native to mainland China. The species has been regarded as the same species as Berberis japonica, native to Taiwan, but the two differ consistently in certain floral and leaf characters. Both species are widely cultivated in many countries as ornamentals. Berberis bealei has reportedly escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered places in the south-eastern United States from Arkansas to Florida to Delaware.

Quercus margarettae, the sand post oak or dwarf post oak, is a North American species of oak in the beech family. It is native to the southeastern and south-central United States from Virginia to Florida and west as far as Texas and Oklahoma. There are historical reports of the species growing in New York State, but it has not been seen there in years.

<i>Plantago indica</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago indica, commonly known as branched plantain, sand plantain, or black psyllium, is a flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, and is one of a few species in the Plantago genus under the common name psyllium. The plant is native to parts of Africa, Europe, Russia, and Asia, and has been naturalized in many other areas such as Australia and North America. The plant can be found mostly in dry inland areas, such as those that are sandy, and has also naturalized on roadsides and in meadows. The plant is not used broadly as a food source, but has been cultivated for its seeds which serve a medicinal use as a laxative.

<i>Chamaedorea seifrizii</i> Species of subtropical palm

Chamaedorea seifrizii is a species of palm referred to as bamboo palm, parlor palm, or reed palm. It is a subtropical palm that grows up to 20 feet tall, and is commonly used as a houseplant. The evergreen leaves are pinnately divided, and yellow flowers are borne on a panicle. The fruit are small, round, and black.

References

  1. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Plantago virginica". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 17 January 2018. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  3. ↑ Vestal, Paul A. and Richard Evans Schultes, 1939, The Economic Botany of the Kiowa Indians, Cambridge MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, page 51
  4. ↑ "Plantago virginica". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  5. ↑ "Plantago virginica (Dwarf Plantain): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. ↑ "Plantago - FNA". beta.floranorthamerica.org. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  7. ↑ "Plantago virginica". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  8. ↑ "Plantago - FNA". beta.floranorthamerica.org. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  9. ↑ "Crassostrea virginica (eastern oyster)". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  10. ↑ "Piedmont elimia (Elimia virginica) - Species Profile". nas.er.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  11. ↑ "Itea virginica (Itea, Virginia Sweetspire, Virginia Sweet Spire, Virginia Willow) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  12. ↑ "Iris virginica (Southern Blue Flag Iris) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  13. ↑ "Plantago virginica (Dwarf Plantain): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  14. ↑ "Plantago virginica (Dwarf Plantain, Hoary Plantain, Paleseed Indian-wheat, Pale Seed Plantain, Paleseed Plantain, Southern Plantain, Virginia Plantain) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  15. ↑ "USDA Plants Database". plants.sc.egov.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  16. ↑ Luo, Xi; Xu, Xinyu; Zheng, Yi; Guo, Hui; Hu, Shuijin (2019-05-16). "The role of phenotypic plasticity and rapid adaptation in determining invasion success of Plantago virginica". Biological Invasions. 21 (8): 2679–2692. doi:10.1007/s10530-019-02004-x. ISSN   1387-3547. S2CID   155104357.
  17. ↑ Wang, Huatian; Zhou, Yumei; Chen, Yang; Wang, Quanxi; Jiang, Lifen; Luo, Yiqi (2015-04-27). "Allelopathic Potential of Invasive Plantago virginica on Four Lawn Species". PLOS ONE. 10 (4): e0125433. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125433 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4411108 . PMID   25915515.
  18. ↑ Luo, Xi; Xu, Xinyu; Zheng, Yi; Guo, Hui; Hu, Shuijin (2019-08-01). "The role of phenotypic plasticity and rapid adaptation in determining invasion success of Plantago virginica". Biological Invasions. 21 (8): 2679–2692. doi:10.1007/s10530-019-02004-x. ISSN   1573-1464. S2CID   155104357.
  19. ↑ "Growth characteristics and relative competitive capacity of Plantago virginica and P.asiatica--《Chinese Journal of Ecology》2008年04期". en.cnki.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  20. ↑ Popp, Teresa (2014-01-01). "Phenotypic Variation in Native North American and Invasive Chinese Populations of Plantago Virginica". Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
  21. ↑ Popp, Teresa (2014-01-01). "Phenotypic Variation in Native North American and Invasive Chinese Populations of Plantago Virginica". Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
  22. ↑ Xu, Xinyu (2019). "Differential germination strategies of native and introduced populations of the invasive species Plantago virginica". NeoBiota. 43: 101–118. doi:10.3897/neobiota.43.30392. S2CID   109230512.
  23. ↑ "Plantago virginica - FNA". beta.floranorthamerica.org. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  24. ↑ "Plantago virginica (Dwarf Plantain, Hoary Plantain, Paleseed Indian-wheat, Pale Seed Plantain, Paleseed Plantain, Southern Plantain, Virginia Plantain) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  25. ↑ "Plantago virginica". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  26. ↑ Campbell, Jonathan E.; Gibson, David J. (2001-11-01). "The effect of seeds of exotic species transported via horse dung on vegetation along trail corridors". Plant Ecology. 157 (1): 23–35. doi:10.1023/A:1013751615636. ISSN   1573-5052. S2CID   25075261.
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