Family:  Plantain (Plantaginaceae)

Hardy to Zones 3 to 10

Herbaceous perennial native to China.  Similar to our common western broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) but with slightly serrated leaf margins and a more open and upright growth habit.   The leaves are spinach-ey in texture, and especially when harvested during the cool months of the year, rate high in edibility, with little of the typical overwhelming tannic reaction of P. major.  Produces copious quantities of seed on full, upright branches.  The seed is official to the Chinese pharmacopoeia.   Space plants 6 inches to 1 foot apart.

Potted plant, Certified Organically Grown