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Plantain, Seaotanical: Plantago maritimoFamily: N.O. Plantaginaceae Synonyms: Sheep's Herb. Part Used: Herb.
The Sea Plantain has linear leaves grooved, fleshy and woolly at the base. It is common on the seashore and tops of mountains and is easily distinguished from the rest of the genus by its fleshy leaves. It is so relished by sheep as food and considered so good for them, that in North Wales, where it has been cultivated, it is called Sheep's Herb, and the Welsh have two names for it, signifying 'the sheep's favourite morsel' and 'the suet producer.' The RATTLESNAKE or NET-LEAVED PLANTAINS of the United States, Peramium ripens (Salisb.) (syn. Goodyera ripens, R. Br.), the White Plantain or Squirrel-ear, and P. pubescens (Willd.), peculiar little woodland herbs, their ovate leaves beautifully reticulated with white lines, are not allies of our common Plantains, but belong to the Orchid family. The name WHITE PLANTAIN is also applied in the United States to Antennaria plantaginifolia (Linn.), the Ladies or Indian Tobacco, Spring Cudweed, or Life-Everlasting, to give several of its names, exceedingly common throughout Eastern North America, and one of the earliest blooming of spring plants in dry meadows, where it grows in patches. It is used as a soothing expectorant with more or less marked stomachic properties.
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