Plantago cretica is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common name Cretan plantain.

Plantago cretica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Plantago
Species:
P. cretica
Binomial name
Plantago cretica

Description and Biology

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It is a tumbleweed,[1] densely tufted annual plant. The leaves are in basal rosette, entire, narrow-linear and woolly, upright, to 15 cm. The inflorescences and short flowering stalks are densely creamy to brown-hairy, curling downwards after flowering to form a dense mass at the base of the plant. Flowering from March to May.[2]

Habitat

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Dry, sandy and rocky soils.

Distribution

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This Mediterranean species is native to Greece (Aegean islands and Crete), Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey. It has been introduced in Australia.

References

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  1. ^ W. F. Ganong (1896). "An outline of phytobiology". Bulletin of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick. 13: 3–26, page 1 errata. page 16
  2. ^ "Wonders at our feet". 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[1]