Plantago indica
| Plantago indica | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Plantago |
| Species: | P. indica
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| Binomial name | |
| Plantago indica | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Plantago indica, commonly known as branched plantain,[3] sand plantain, or black psyllium, is a flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, and is one of a group of species in the genus Plantago formerly treated by some authors in a separate genus Psyllium.[2] The plant is native to parts of Africa, Europe, Russia, and Asia, and is naturalised in many other areas such as Australia and North America.[4][5] The plant can be found mostly in dry inland areas, such as those that are sandy, and also grows on roadsides and in meadows.[4][5] The plant is not used broadly as a food source, but has been cultivated for its seeds which serve a medicinal use as a laxative.[6]
Plantago indica has been widely listed as P. arenaria, a later synonym,[3][4][7] and also extensively confused with the related species Plantago afra (glandular plantain).[7]
Description
[edit]Plantago indica is an annual herb with a taproot and an erect, hairy stem with leaves that are opposite or in whorls of three to five, and elongated internodes between leaf sets.[8][4][9] Glandular pubescence is found on the stems, leaves, sepals, and inflorescences.[4] The leaves are simple and have a base that is decurrent onto the petiole, an entire or slightly dentate edge, are linear or lanceolate in shape, and can reach 2.5-5 cm long and 1-3 mm wide.[4][9] Some leaves are modified into bracts between 0.5 cm and 2 cm, which has a cuspidate apex and an orbicular-ovate base.[4] The plant has a densely flowered inflorescence with flowers that have a glabrous, brownish corolla and a calyx with broadly veined, elliptic and obovate sepals.[4][9] The stamens are exserted above the corolla, and the anthers are yellow, ellipsoid, and 1.8-2.2 mm long.[4][9] The style of the stigma is also well exserted, and the floral parts are hypogynous but extend superior to the ovary.[4][5][9] The seeds are contained in capsules of 2. The seeds are 2.5-2.8 mm in size, black or blackish-brown, shiny, ellipsoid, and have a distinct central groove on the inner face.[4][9]
Ecology
[edit]Plantago indica is native to North Africa, most of Europe (except the far north), southwest Asia from Jordan to Turkey and Iran, western and central Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.[2][4] The plant has become broadly naturalised in areas of Australia, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, North America, and more locally in South America.[2][4][5] The plant is commonly found in sandy areas such as in arid deserts and on sandy beaches, and has also been seen distributed on roadsides, and by railroad tracks.[7][4][5][10]
Uses
[edit]
The seeds, known as French psyllium or black psyllium, are medicinally cultivated, along with other species under the psyllium common name, such as P. ovata, for use as a laxative for constipation and are also used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diarrhea by extracting the mucilage from the seed coat.[6][11] The mucilage from the seeds has also been reported to lower the risk of coronary heart disease.[6][11]
References
[edit]- ^ Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 896 (1759)
- ^ a b c d "Plantago indica L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Branched Plantain Plantago indica". IUCN Red List. IUCN. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Plantago arenaria in Flora of China @ efloras". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
- ^ a b c d e Jeanes, J.A. (1999). "Flora of Victoria". VicFlora - Royal Botanic Gardens. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
- ^ a b c "Black Psyllium: MedlinePlus Supplements". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ a b c "Branched Plantain Plantago arenaria Waldst. & Kit. | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora". www.brc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-07-20.
- ^ Blamey, Marjorie; Grey-Wilson, Christopher (1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 380. ISBN 0-340-40170-2.
- ^ a b c d e f Radford, Albert E.; Ahles; Bell (1964). Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. United States of America: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 978. ISBN 978-0-8078-1087-3.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ "Plantago arenaria - Michigan Flora". michiganflora.net. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ a b Hanson, C.V.; Oelke, E.A.; Putnam, D.H.; Oplinger, E.S. (1992-06-01). "Psyllium". www.hort.purdue.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-12-11.