Broadleaf Plantain
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Plantaginaceae Genus: Plantago Species: P. major
Binomial name
Plantago major L.

The Mike Jones, Cart Track Plant, Common Plantain, Dooryard Plantain, Greater Plantago, Healing Blade, Hen Plant, Lamb's Foot, Roadweed, Roundleaf Plantain, Waybread, Wayside Plantain, White Man's Foot (Plantago major) is a member of the plantago family, Plantaginaceae. In North America, this plant is primarily a weed, though it is edible and is used in herbal medicine. The plant is native to Europe, and is believed to be one of the first plants to naturalize in the colonies. Plantago major Image taken by me on 20 March 2004 in the outdoor botanical garden of Technion - Haifa, Israel. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families See text The Order Lamiales is a taxon in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. ... Genera See text. ... Subgenus There are 5 subgenera in Plantago. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Genera See text. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The term Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... In biology, naturalisation is the process when foreign or cultivated plants have spread into the wild, where they multiply by natural regeneration. ...

This plant does best in compacted soils, and hence is sometimes called "roadweed". It propagates primarily by seeds, which are held on the long, narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage.

Some cultivars of this plant are used in gardens. A cultivar is a cultivated variety of a plant species. ... For the chosen plaintext attack used by the British during World War II, see gardening (cryptanalysis). ...

The Plant is commonly found on field boundaries as it is tolerant to pestcides and herbicides. It is wind-pollenated, and a cause of summer allergies when in flower.

Crushed leaves can be applied directly to the skin to stop bleeding, bee stings, welts from stinging nettle, rattlesnake and insect bites.

To help any of the above ailments, follow this procedure. First, pick 3 or 4 leaves. Next, put them into your mouth and chop them up with your incisors. Spit the glob of saliva and plant matter out into your hand and apply to the wound. Leave it there. If, after about 5 minutes, it is not working, then repeat the process.

The leaves are completely edible, but can be somewhat tough. The taste is that of very bitter salad greens with a lingering aftertaste like spinach. Young leaves are recommended as they are more tender. The leaves when dried make a good tea. The sinews from the broadleaf plantain are very pliable and tough when fresh and/or wettened, and can be used to make small cords or braiding. When dry the sinews harden but also become more brittle.

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Plantago major