Plant Name
Scientific Name: Plantago ovata
Synonyms: Plantago brunnea, P. fastigiata, P. gooddingii, P. insularis, P. minima
Common Names: Desert Indianwheat, Desert Plantain, Blonde Psyllium, Indian Plantago, Isabgol
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. This plant grows in dry, sunny, open areas.
Flower Color: Light tan to dirty white
Flowering Season: Spring
Height: To 6 inches (15 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are on short, rounded, terminal flower spikes. The individual flowers have 4 round-ovate lobes and 4 stamens. The leaves are green, basal, and narrowly linear in shape. The plants are covered in fuzzy, white hair at right angles to the stems and leaves.
The similar Woolly Plantain (Plantago patagonica) has longer, thinner, greener, terminal flower spikes with smaller flowers.
Special Characteristics
Edible – The mucilaginous seeds are edible and used as a source of soluble fiber known as psyllium.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Plantaginales
Family: Plantaginaceae – Plantain family
Genus: Plantago L. – plantain
Species: Plantago ovata Forssk. – desert Indianwheat
More About This Plant