Description
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Plantaginales | Plantaginaceae | Plantago |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1739 | Established | Stable | Introduced | Boundary Resident | Europe | Eurasia | Shipping(Dry Ballast), Agriculture(Agricultural Weed) |
History of Spread
Plantago major (Common Plantain; English Plantain) is a definite introduction according to most authors (e.g. Fernald 1950; Gleason and Cronquist 1991). However, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (2000) database treats it as native, probably because of populations occurring in isolated regions of northern North America.. Hawthorn (1974) cites palynological data supporting introduced status. Fernald (1950) lists a native variety, P. m. var. scopulorum, which inhabits 'brackish or saline shores', but common-garden experiments (planting different varieties under identical conditions) suggest that this is an ecotype (Hawthorn 1974). Plantago major was collected by John Clayton in VA before 1739 (Gronovius 1739; Reveal 1983). It rapidly became widespread across North America, and has also been introduced to every major landmass where European agriculture has been introduced. (Hawthorn 1974; Sagar and Harper 1964).
In Chesapeake Bay, P. major was collected in early surveys from Baltimore and Washington (Aikin 1837; Brereton 1830), and is now widespread in the watershed. Records from tidal wetlands include:
Upper Bay- Plantago major was collected at Herald Harbor and Porter Point, MD, on the Severn River in 'salt marshes' (Stieber 1967); It is common in Shady Side MD, beside Cedarhurst Harbor and in disturbed marshes (Fofonoff, personal observations).
James River- Plantago major was collected from tidal wetlands at Charles City County, VA, on the James River (Atkinson et al. 1990).
History References- Aikin 1837; Atkinson et al. 1990; Biota of North America Program 2000; Brereton 1830; Fernald 1950; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Gronovius 1739; Hawthorn 1974; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2000; Reveal 1983; Sagar and Harper 1964; Stieber 1967
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-meso |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
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| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
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| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Plantago major (Common Plantain) is a widespread weed of lawns, farm fields, roadsides, and other disturbed upland areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Brown and Brown 1984; Shreve et al. 1910), but it appears to be only an occasional colonist of tidal wetlands, with no reported economic impacts on native biota in the Bay proper.
References- Brown and Brown 1984; Shreve et al. 1910
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Plantago major (Common Plantain) is a widespread weed of lawns, farm fields, roadsides, and other disturbed upland areas, now found on all continents and New Zealand (Hawthorn 1974; Sagar and Harper 1964). However, it appears to be only an occasional colonist of tidal wetlands, with no reported economic impacts in estuarine habitats.
References- Hawthorn 1974; Sagar and Harper 1964
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Plantago major (Common Plantain) is a widespread weed of highly disturbed upland areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Brown and Brown 1984), but it appears to be only an occasional colonist of tidal wetlands, with no reported ecological impacts on native biota in the Bay proper.
References- Brown and Brown 1984
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Plantago major (Common Plantain) is a widespread weed of highly disturbed upland areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Brown and Brown 1984), but it appears to be only an occasional colonist of tidal wetlands, with no reported ecological impacts on exotic biota in the Bay proper.
References- Brown and Brown 1984
References
Aikin, W. E. A. (1837) Catalogue of phenogamous plants and ferns, native or naturalized, growing in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland., Transactions of the Maryland Academy of Sciences and Literature 1: 55-91Atkinson, Robert B.; Bodkin, Norlyn L.; Perry, James E. (1990) New county records collected in tidal wetlands of four coastal plain counties along the James River, Virginia, Castanea 55: 56-64
2001 Invasive Species database search. http://invasivespecies.org/BONAP/namesearch.cfm
Brereton, J. A. (1830) Prodromus of the Flora Columbiana, , Washington, D.C.. Pp.
Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.
Cohen, Andrew N.; Carlton, James T. (1995) Nonindigenous aquatic species in a United States estuary: a case study of the biological invasions of the San Francisco Bay and Delta, , Washington DC, Silver Spring MD.. Pp.
Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.
Gronovius, Johannes Fredericius (1739) Flora Virginica exhibens plantas quas V. C. Johannes Clayton in Virginia observavit atque collegit., , London. Pp.
Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.
Hawthorn, Wayne R. (1974) Biology of Canadian weeds. 4. Plantago major and P. rugelii, Canadian Journal of Plant Science 54: 383-396
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Reveal, James L. (1983) Significance of pre-1753 botanical explorations in temperate North America on Linnaeus' first edition of Species Plantarum, Phytologia 53: 1-96
Sagar, G. R.; Harper, J. L. (1964) Biological Flora of the British Isles, Plantago major L., P. media L., and P. lanceolata L., Ecology 52: 189-221
Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.
Stieber, Michael T. (1967) An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Anne Arundel County Maryland, , Washington, D.C.. Pp.