Broadleaf Plantain

Plantago major is a species of Plantago , family Plantaginaceae . The plant is native to most of Europe and northern and central Asia . It is widely naturalised elsewhere in the world, where it is a common weed . The standard native English name is Greater Plantain , though it is also called Common Plantain in some areas where it is introduced, particularly North America. Another one of its common names was "Soldier's Herb" for its use on the battlefield as a field dressing.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant with a rosette of leaves 15-30 cm diameter. Each leaf is oval, 5-20 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, rarely up to 30 cm long and 17 cm broad, with an acute apex and a smooth margin; there are five to nine conspicuous veins. The flowers are small, greenish-brown with purple stamens , produced in a dense spike 5-15 cm long on top of a stem 13-15 cm tall (rarely to 70 cm tall).