Plantago major (broad-leaved plantain)

Pictures

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Picture

Title

Caption

Copyright

Habit

Plantago major, growing in hard-surfaced road. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. 21st October 2010.

©A.R. Pittaway

Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

Plantago major L.

Preferred Common Name

broad-leaved plantain

International Common Names

English: broadleaf plantain; common plantain; greater plantain; plantain; ribgrass; ribwort; white-man's foot
Spanish: llantén; llantén común; llantén major
French: grand plantain; plantain majeur
Portuguese: tanachagem major

Local Common Names

Germany: Breitwegerich
Italy: petacciola; piantaggine maggiore
Japan: onioobako; seiyooobako
Netherlands: weegbree, groote
South Africa: broad-leaved ribwort; cart-track plant; indlebe-ka-tekwane; large plantain; larger ribwort plantain; ripplegrass; rippleseed plantain; wild sago
Sweden: groblad

EPPO code

PLAMA (Plantago major)

Summary of Invasiveness

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P. major is native to Europe and Asia but is now widely distributed around the world, particularly in temperate, but also tropical parts. It is easily distributed and maintained by anthropogenic activities, particularly soil disturbance and compaction. Its small seeds may be spread as a contaminant. There is a possibility for invasion of naturally disturbed habitats (e.g. riparian) as well as anthropogenically disturbed areas and grasslands.

Taxonomic Tree

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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Spermatophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Order: Plantaginales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Plantago
Species: Plantago major

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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A number of subspecies of P. major have been named: for example, dostalii, major, winteri, intermedia and pleiosperma (Penkova, 1986; Akeroyd and Doogue, 1988; Lotz et al., 1990).

Description

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P. major is a glabrous to pubescent perennial with one rosette, leaves ovate to broadly so, abruptly narrowed to petiole usually more or less as long as leaves 1.5-40 cm, entire to weakly toothed. Scapes to 40 cm, not furrowed. Inflorescence a spike up to 20 cm long. Many small flowers subtended by bracts 1-2 mm, ovate, glabrous, brownish white with green keel. Sepals 1.5-2.5 mm, green. Corolla tube ca. 2 mm, glabrous, the lobes ca.1 mm, yellowish white, subobtuse, glabrous. Stamens exserted to 2-3 mm, anthers at first lilac, later dirty yellow. Fruits 2-4 mm. Seeds are two celled. This species is wind pollinated.

Subspecies major: leaves mostly with five to nine veins, usually obtuse at the apex, subcordate to rounded at the base and subentire; capsules mostly with 4-15 seeds; seeds (1)1.2-1.8 (2.10) mm.

Subspecies intermedia: plants usually smaller with much shorter spikes; leaves mostly with three to five veins, usually subacute at apex, broadly cunate at base and +/- undulate toothed near base; capsules mostly with (9)14-25 (36) seeds; seeds (0.6) 0.8-1.2 (1.5) mm.

The morphology of P. major is fairly variable, even within populations and at a small spatial scale of tens of metres for some sites (Lotz et al., 1990). Populations subject to intensive grazing or cutting are generally lower growing and less erect, and variation in growth form has been shown to contain a genetic component (Warwick and Briggs, 1979, 1980).

P. major forms a basal rosette with a compressed stalk and leafless flower stalk. Root contraction has been observed in this species and is related to resistance to treading. The fruit is a capsule opening with an operculum and the seed is mucilaginous and easily transported by cattle or man (Soekarjo, 1992).

Plant Type

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Broadleaved
Perennial
Seed propagated

Distribution

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P. major is a worldwide weed originating from Eurasia (USDA-ARS, 2003). It is distributed widely throughout Europe, North Africa, North and Central Asia and has naturalized throughout most of the world in temperate climates (Clapham et al., 1989); it is also present in some tropical areas.

Distribution Table

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The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Last updated: 02 Jun 2021

Continent/Country/Region	Distribution	Origin	Invasive	Reference	Notes
Africa
Angola	Present	Introduced		Verdcourt (1971)
Cabo Verde	Present			Pinto Basto (1996)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Present	Introduced		Verdcourt (1971)
Egypt	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Eswatini	Present			Wells et al. (1986)
Ethiopia	Present	Introduced		Verdcourt (1971)
Kenya	Present	Introduced		Verdcourt (1971)
Lesotho	Present			Wells et al. (1986)
Mauritius	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Namibia	Present			Wells et al. (1986)
São Tomé and Príncipe	Present	Introduced		Verdcourt (1971)
South Africa	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Wells et al. (1986) Glen (1998)
Asia
Afghanistan	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
China	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
-Hubei	Present			Yao et al. (1992)
-Jiangsu	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Wang et al. (1990)
-Liaoning	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Wang et al. (1990)
-Shandong	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Wang et al. (1990)
-Zhejiang	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Wang et al. (1990)
Hong Kong	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
India	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Sen and Kasera (1988) Sharma et al. (1994) Dangwal et al. (2011)
-Himachal Pradesh	Present			Gupta and Bhardwaj (1998)
-Nagaland	Present			Sharma et al. (1994)
-Uttarakhand	Present			Dangwal et al. (2011)
Indonesia	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Wibowo and Iskandar (2013)
Iran	Present			Behrooz et al. (2017) Ghafarbi and Hassannejad (2013) Hazini et al. (2013) Abad et al. (2015)
Israel	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Japan	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Kobayashi and Hori (1999)
-Shikoku	Present			Kanai and Konta (1987)
Lebanon	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Malaysia	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Myanmar	Present			Aye Than et al. (1996) Aye Than et al. (1996a)
Pakistan	Present			Fazal Hadi and Muhammad Ibrar (2015) Khan et al. (2011) Asad Ullah and Abdur Rashid (2013) Shah et al. (2014)
Saudi Arabia	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Singapore	Present			Chua et al. (1994)
South Korea	Present			Hwang KiSeon et al. (2015)
Turkey	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Bașaran et al. (1997)
Vietnam	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Tam and Cuong (2015)
Europe
Belgium	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Cyprus	Present			Papayiannis et al. (2009)
Czechia	Present			Pyšek and Pyšek (1988)
Denmark	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Molgaard (1992) Andreasen et al. (1996)
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Šegulja and Topić (1987)
Finland	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
France	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Germany	Present			Böttcher (1993)
Greece	Present			CABI (Undated) Chatzivassiliou et al. (2001)	Original citation: Babalonas et al., 1987
Hungary	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Iceland	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Ireland	Present			Akeroyd and Doogue (1988) Reynolds (1990)
Italy	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Netherlands	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Molgaard (1992)
Norway	Present			Hǻland (1989)
Poland	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Holeksa and Holeksa (1987) Trzaskoś (1996) Dąbkowska and Sygulska (2013)
Romania	Present			Coste (1970) Cristea and Groza (1983)
Russia	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Bekmansurov (1996) Zhukova et al. (1996) Ivshin (1998) Kämpf et al. (2016)
-Western Siberia	Present			Kryukova and Persidskaya (1986)
Slovakia	Present			Kliment (1991)
Slovenia	Present			Batič et al. (1997)
Spain	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Patón et al. (1997) CABI (Undated)
Sweden	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Fogelfors (1984)
United Kingdom	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Bastin and Thomas (1999)
North America
Canada	Present			Hawthorn (1974) Holm et al. (1979) Stobbs et al. (2005) Stobbs et al. (2009) CABI (Undated)
-Ontario	Present			CABI (Undated) Stobbs et al. (2005) Stobbs et al. (2009)	Original citation: Hawthorne, 1978
-Prince Edward Island	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Thomas Ivany (1990)
-Quebec	Present			Potvin and Vasseur (1997)
Costa Rica	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Solórzano-Morales et al. (2011)
Cuba	Present	Introduced	Invasive	Oviedo Prieto et al. (2012)
Dominican Republic	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Honduras	Present			Missouri Botanical Garden (2003)
Jamaica	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Mexico	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Lopez-Tellez & Reyes, 1999
Nicaragua	Present			Missouri Botanical Garden (2003)
Panama	Present			Missouri Botanical Garden (2003)
Puerto Rico	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
U.S. Virgin Islands	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
United States	Present, Widespread			Holm et al. (1979) USDA-NRCS (2003) Crosslin and Hamlin (2010)
-Alabama	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Alaska	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Arizona	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Arkansas	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-California	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Colorado	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Connecticut	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Delaware	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Florida	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Georgia	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Hawaii	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Idaho	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Illinois	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Indiana	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Iowa	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Kansas	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Kentucky	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Louisiana	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Maine	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Maryland	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Massachusetts	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Michigan	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Minnesota	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Mississippi	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Missouri	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Montana	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Nebraska	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Nevada	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-New Hampshire	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-New Jersey	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-New Mexico	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-New York	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-North Carolina	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-North Dakota	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Ohio	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Oklahoma	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Pennsylvania	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-South Carolina	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-South Dakota	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Tennessee	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Texas	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Utah	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Vermont	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Virginia	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Washington	Present			Crosslin and Hamlin (2010)
-West Virginia	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Wisconsin	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
-Wyoming	Present			USDA-NRCS (2003)
Oceania
Australia	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Fiji	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
New Zealand	Present			Holm et al. (1979) Popay et al. (1995)
South America
Argentina	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Bolivia	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Brazil	Present			Holetz et al. (2002) Dias-Arieira et al. (2014)
-Bahia	Present			França et al. (1996)
-Minas Gerais	Present			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Silva Filho et al., 1994
-Parana	Present			Dias-Arieira et al. (2014)
-Sao Paulo	Present			Ramos et al. (2002)
Chile	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Colombia	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Ecuador	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Peru	Present			Holm et al. (1979)
Venezuela	Present			Watson (1977) Holm et al. (1979)

History of Introduction and Spread

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This species is synanthropic (often associated with human activities and landuse such as agriculture, earthworks). It has thus spread from Eurasia to much of the rest of the world, particularly temperate areas. Its pollen is used as an indicator of human settlement from the Neolithicum onwards (Aart and Vulto, 1992a). In the Americas it is known as 'white man's foot' (Mitch, 1987). Godwin (1944) notes the increase in abundance of this species in Denmark's prehistoric pollen record as original forest cover was replaced by cultivated land. The seedbank of this species in Danish arable soil is thought to have decreased significantly over the period 1964-1992 (Jensen and Hjellsson, 1992).

Habitat

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Like other Plantago species, this is a plant of open, well lit (Aart and Vulto, 1992b), often grassy habitats (Stace, 1997) in a range of climates. Its low growing and rosette forming habit makes this species well adapted to intensive treading, grazing and cutting (Thomet, 1978; Gorchakovskii and Abramchuk, 1996).

P. major is found in grass seed mixes for a range of purposes (Kolb and Schwarz, 1983) and therefore it is present in a wide range of seeded grassland habitats. It is tolerant of high nutrient conditions and is found in agriculturally improved grasslands (Aart and Vulto, 1992b). This species is also a plant of man-made habitats such as urban areas and disturbed ground (Bastin and Thomas, 1999).

P. major subsp. intermedia tends to be found in damp, usually saline places near the sea and less often inland (Stace, 1997).

Habitat List

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Category	Sub-Category	Habitat	Presence	Status
Terrestrial
Terrestrial	Managed	Cultivated / agricultural land	Present, no further details
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed forests, plantations and orchards	Present, no further details
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed forests, plantations and orchards	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed grasslands (grazing systems)	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Disturbed areas	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Rail / roadsides	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Urban / peri-urban areas	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural forests	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural grasslands	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Riverbanks	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)

Hosts/Species Affected

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P. major is mainly found in grassland.

Biology and Ecology

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Genetics

P. major has a chromosome number of 2n=12 (Stace, 1997). Populations show a high level of genetic structure, with a tendency to form a range of morphological variants specialized to fit particular niches. At least some of this specialization is thought to be due to: 1) the high rate of self-fertilization in the species, which restricts gene flow between variants, and 2) the high chromosome variability of this species. Such specialization and interrupted gene flow contrast with the free gene flow of some other Plantago species which are outbreeding generalists (Sharma et al., 1992; Sharma and Koul, 1995). Alloenzyme variation evidence corroborates this analysis, and shows high variation and low gene flow in P. major (Dijk and Wolff, 1992).

P. major tends to show wide variability across, but uniformity within, populations. Analysis of the inter- and intraspecific variation of chloroplast DNA of four European Plantago species (P. major, P. lanceolata, P. media and P. coronopus) by Hooglander et al. (1993) showed P. major to be most closely related to P. media. A short mutation (70 base pairs) could discriminate between the subspecies major and pleiosperma. Wolff and Morgan-Richards (1998) have also distinguished P. major subspecies using PCR markers.

Physiology and Phenology

P. major seed dormancy is broken by stratification (1-7 days), exogenous gibberellic acid (GA3) and potassium nitrate (Saruhan et al., 2002). Light is normally required for germination (Blom, 1978; Pons and Toorn, 1988; Pons, 1991) and an approximately linear decrease in germination rate with increasing soil depth has been observed (Bliss and Smith, 1985). Imbibition (soaking) and alternating temperature (20°C/30°C) increase germination (Deschenes and Moineau, 1972); ethylene treatment was inhibitory and thereafter germination occurred only in the presence of light (Heydecker et al., 1972). Two- to 5-year-old seed showed a higher germination rate than fresh seed (Blom, 1992). Seeds of this species have been shown to survive passage through the digestive tract of a cow and will germinate if followed by a period of low temperature (5°C) but not when followed by a period of higher temperature (20°C) (Holub and Lhotska, 1991).

Under optimal conditions, P. major shows higher rates of emergence and establishment in uncompacted rather than compacted soils. However the roots of this species have a marked ability to penetrate compacted soils and, under conditions of low moisture, P. major does better in compacted than loose sandy soil (Blom, 1976). Although perennial, P. major may behave as an annual, flowering and setting seeds within 6 weeks of germination. In Britain, flowering normally starts in early June and continues for about 3 months (Sagar and Harper, 1964). A micropropagation protocol for this species has been produced by Mederos et al. (1998) and involves shoot tip culture on modified MS medium.

Reproductive Biology

P. major reproduces mainly by seeds and cannot multiply freely by vegetative means (Holm et al., 1977). The species is wind pollinated, but relies heavily on self-pollination (Sharma et al., 1992; Sharma and Koul, 1995). There may be 3-30 seeds per capsule and a seed production of 14,000 seeds per plant per year has been recorded (Holm et al., 1977). Sharma and Koul (1995) and Sharma et al. (1992) describe the reproductive strategy of this species as making a greater investment in female rather than male reproductive components and relying heavily on self-fertilization. Sagar and Harper (1964) note that seed is set rapidly after fertilization but is frequently not dispersed from the capsules until the following year.

Environmental Requirements

There is some evidence that P. major is more shade tolerant than other members of the genus (Toorn and Pons, 1988). There is also evidence that this species has a higher soil moisture requirement than some other Plantago species (Blom, 1976). Stoutjesdijk (1992) indicates that P. major tolerates a narrower range of temperature, solar radiation and humidity than other Plantago species such as P. lanceolata. Sagar and Harper (1964) note that P. major occurs on a wide range of soil types in Britain, being absent only from extremely acid peats and mountain grasslands.

P. major is particularly resistant to trampling and compaction (Engelaar et al., 1993; Engelaar, 1995; Gorchakovskii and Abramchuk, 1996). Zelikov and Psonnova (1961) and Kolb and Schwarz (1983) found it inhabited soil with a mean density of 1.42 g/cm3, and its abundance has been positively correlated with soil compaction (Crawford and Liddle, 1977; Aspinall and Pye, 1987). Thomet (1978) and Holeksa and Holeksa (1987) found P. major to be an indicator of excessive treading in permanent pastures. A number of studies show this species to be capable of withstanding considerable foot traffic and it is often an important component of well worn turf (Montacchini and Siniscalco, 1982).

Associations

Sagar and Harper (1964) provide detailed lists of plants associated with P. major in the British Isles.

Rainfall

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Parameter	Lower limit	Upper limit	Description
Mean annual rainfall	0	0	mm; lower/upper limits

Soil Tolerances

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Soil drainage

free
impeded
seasonally waterlogged
seasonally waterlogged

Soil texture

heavy
light
medium

Notes on Natural Enemies

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Sagar and Harper (1964) provide a long list of natural enemies including invertebrates, fungi and viruses but imply that these have much less influence than livestock management.

Means of Movement and Dispersal

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Natural Dispersal (Non-Biotic)

The small seeds are dispersed by the wind.

Vector Transmission (Biotic)

The seeds are mucilaginous and are dispersed by humans and animals (Soekarjo, 1992).

Accidental Introduction

Because of the small size of its seeds, P. major may be introduced as a contaminant of agricultural produce.

Plant Trade

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Plant parts liable to carry the pest in trade/transport	Pest stages	Borne externally	Visibility of pest or symptoms
Flowers/Inflorescences/Cones/Calyx	seeds
Fruits (inc. pods)	seeds	Yes	Pest or symptoms usually visible to the naked eye
Growing medium accompanying plants	roots; seeds
Roots	roots
Seedlings/Micropropagated plants	whole plants
True seeds (inc. grain)	seeds

Plant parts not known to carry the pest in trade/transport
Bark
Bulbs/Tubers/Corms/Rhizomes
Leaves
Stems (above ground)/Shoots/Trunks/Branches
Wood

Impact Summary

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Category	Impact
Animal/plant collections	None
Animal/plant products	None
Biodiversity (generally)	None
Crop production	Negative
Environment (generally)	None
Fisheries / aquaculture	None
Forestry production	None
Human health	Positive
Livestock production	Positive
Native fauna	None
Native flora	None
Rare/protected species	None
Tourism	None
Trade/international relations	None
Transport/travel	None

Impact

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P. major has been described as an agricultural, pastoral and environmental weed competing with other plants for light, water and nutrients and replacing preferred vegetation. P. lanceolata and P. major have together been reported as weeds in over 50 countries affecting a wide range of crops (Holm et al., 1977). It is a field rather than field margin weed, although it colonizes disturbed margins (Kress, 1988).

In the UK it affects the majority of local authority owned sports turf (Raikes et al., 1994). In Prince Edward Island, Canada, it is present in 80% of cereal fields with a mean density of over 14 plants per m² (Thomas and Ivany, 1990).

Risk and Impact Factors

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Invasiveness

Invasive in its native range
Proved invasive outside its native range
Highly adaptable to different environments
Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
Highly mobile locally
Has high reproductive potential

Impact outcomes

Negatively impacts agriculture
Negatively impacts tourism
Reduced amenity values

Impact mechanisms

Competition - monopolizing resources

Likelihood of entry/control

Highly likely to be transported internationally accidentally
Difficult to identify/detect as a commodity contaminant
Difficult/costly to control

Uses

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P. major has medicinal properties and is a popular Chinese medicine. It contains phenylethanoid glycosides. It is used to treat inflammation (Nunez Guillen et al., 1997), gastritis and peptic ulcers (Aye et al., 1996b), leishmanial ulcers (Franca et al., 1996), to reduce pain (Nunez Guillen et al., 1997), and as an antidiarrhoeal agent (Heinrich, 1998). It is also used in the treatment of dermatological conditions (Brown and Dattner, 1998), common cold, viral hepatitis (Chiang et al., 2002), and has expectorant, cicatrizant and astringent properties (Ramos et al., 2002). Aqueous extracts of P. major have a significant effect on aspirin-induced ulceration in rats (Aye et al., 1996b), some effects on pain and inflammation (Nunez Guillen, 1997; Aye et al., 1996a). Navarro et al. (1998) report P. major to be effective at controlling dental plaque and gingivitis. Extracts of this species show some degree of antibacterial activity (Holetz et al., 2002).

P. major is also used as fodder (Fogelfors, 1984). It is higher in trace elements than pasture grasses and therefore can be considered a useful pasture component (Trzaskos, 1996). It is palatable to sheep (Barcsak and Kispal, 1984).

P. major is cultivated as an ornamental in South Africa (Wells et al., 1986).

Uses List

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Medicinal, pharmaceutical

Traditional/folklore

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

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P. major is distinguished from other Plantago species by its long-petioled leaf blade and many-seeded capsule that opens around the fruit above the base, and the angular seeds which are marked with thread-like ridges and bear a light-coloured hilum (Holm et al., 1977).

Prevention and Control

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Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

Cultural Control

Flooding and trampling regimes aimed at weed control have not been successful against P. major (Engelaar and Blom, 1995). Similarly, a four-course crop rotation (oats, clover, winter wheat, faba beans), using minimal weed control for 4 years, resulted in large increases in weed biomass and surface and subsurface seed bank of P. major (Hill et al., 1989).

Mechanical Control

Mechanized spraying of hot water (85-95°C) in an orchard required two to three repeat sprays for good control of this and other species (Kurfess and Kleisinger, 2000).

Whilst microwave radiation has been tested as a weed control measure, it required more than 32 h of treatment (at 2.45 Ghz, 6 kW) for complete control of P. major in pot experiments. Higher frequencies (13.5 MHz, 50 kW) were effective against some erect weeds but not P. major (Kunisch et al., 1992).

Chemical Control

Treatment with chlorthal-dimethyl + naptalam resulted in successful control in Cucumis crops (Himme et al., 1984). In winter and spring cereals, glyphosate efficiently controlled weeds, including P. major, by pre-harvest application and on stubble after harvesting (Ciuberkis and Petraitis, 1998).

Amitrole or paraquat with diuron failed to control this species in orchards (Himme and Stryckers, 1975a, b), and it is resistant to lenacil (Stryckers and Himme, 1974) and methazole (Tasmanian Department of Agriculture, 1975). In a long-term repeated spraying regime using diuron, P. major was the first weed species to gain resistance (Bulcke et al., 1989).

P. major is controlled less easily with chemicals than are other turf weeds (Schery, 1974). In Festuca rubra / Poa pratensis turf, MCPA or 2,4-D applied in July-August (in northwest USA) provided excellent control of this species (Ebdon and Jagschitz, 1981). In Festuca arundinacea / Poa pratensis turf, the best control of P. major was obtained with 2,4-D (Wehner et al., 1981). In turf close to ornamental shrubs, dicamba + 2,4-D was effective (Hendricks et al., 1983). Neal and Mascianica (1988) found that quinclorac and triclopyr provided adequate control of this species in turf. However, Neal (1990) found 2,4-D and clopyralid + triclopyr were effective treatments but not quinclorac, chlorflurenol or dicamba. MCPA ± mecoprop + dicamba or clopyralid ± triclopyr or chlorflurenol ± clopyralid gave excellent control of Plantago spp. in turf, including P. major (Sawyer and Jagschitz, 1988).

Heavy applications of glyphosate to pasture increased the abundance of P. major (Grabowski, 1990). Vidme (1973) recommends that weed control by herbicide (such as 2,4 D salts or esters) in grassland is combined with heavy nitrogen applications for maximum effect.

Biological Control

P. major has been identified as a priority weed for bioherbicide research of lawn weeds (Gadoury and Watson, 1987).

Integrated Control

This weed was best controlled in rainfed rice (Nagaland, India) by a combination of chemical (2,4-D, butachlor and fluchloralin at 1 day after transplanting (DAT); thiobencarb at 1 and 7 DAT) and hand-weeding (at 25 and 45 DAT; Sharma et al., 1994).

References

Top of page

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GISD/IASPMR: Invasive Alien Species Pathway Management Resource and DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway	https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m93f6	Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list.

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Plantago major (broad-leaved plantain)

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