{{Short description|Plant species in the veronica family}} {{Speciesbox | image = Plantago elongata (7457389188).jpg | status = {{TNCStatus}} | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{Cite NatureServe |date=3 April 2026 |id=2.149134 |title=''Plantago elongata'' |access-date=9 April 2026}}</ref> | genus = Plantago | species = elongata | authority = Pursh | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO" /> | synonyms = {{Species list | Plantago bigelovii | | Plantago californica | | Plantago linearifolia | | Plantago myosuroides | }} }}
'''''Plantago elongata''''' is a species of plantain known by the common names '''prairie plantain''' and '''slender plantain'''.
It is native to much of western North America, from British Columbia to California and as far east as Minnesota. It grows in wet habitats, such as vernal pools and wet meadows, including areas with saline and alkali soils, such as beaches.
[[File:Plantago elongata (7457390096).jpg|thumb|left|225px|''Plantago elongata'', in Montana]]
==Description== ''Plantago elongata'' is a petite annual herb producing a few narrow linear or threadlike basal leaves up to {{Convert|10|cm|sp=us}} long.
The stemlike inflorescences grow erect to a maximum height around {{Convert|18|cm|sp=us}}. Atop the peduncle of the inflorescence is a spike of several tiny flowers each with a rounded or oval calyx of sepals covered with thick, fleshy green bracts.
==Taxonomy== ''Plantago elongata'' was given its scientific name in 1813 by Frederick Traugott Pursh. It is classifed in the genus ''Plantago'' as part of the Plantaginaceae family. It has no accepted subspecies or varieties, but has several among its eleven heterotypic synonyms.<ref name="POWO">{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2026 |id=685115-1 |title=''Plantago elongata'' Pursh |access-date=9 April 2026}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" id="Synonyms" |+ class="nowrap" | Table of Synonyms ! Name ! Year ! Rank |- | ''Plantago bigelovii'' {{small|A.Gray}} | 1857 |data-sort-value=A | species |- | ''Plantago bigelovii'' subsp. ''californica'' {{small|(Greene) Bassett}} | 1966 |data-sort-value=B | subspecies |- | ''Plantago californica'' {{small|Greene}} | 1885 |data-sort-value=A | species |- | ''Plantago elongata'' var. ''bigelovii'' {{small|(A.Gray) B.Boivin}} | 1972 |data-sort-value=D | variety |- | ''Plantago elongata'' var. ''californica'' {{small|(Greene) B.Boivin}} | 1972 |data-sort-value=D | variety |- | ''Plantago elongata'' subsp. ''pentasperma'' {{small|Bassett}} | 1966 |data-sort-value=B | subspecies |- | ''Plantago elongata'' var. ''pentasperma'' {{small|(Bassett) B.Boivin}} | 1972 |data-sort-value=D | variety |- | ''Plantago hookeriana'' var. ''californica'' {{small|(Greene) Poe}} | 1928 |data-sort-value=D | variety |- | ''Plantago linearifolia'' {{small|Muhl. ex Torr.}} | 1824 |data-sort-value=A | species |- | ''Plantago myosuroides'' {{small|Rydb.}} | 1900 |data-sort-value=A | species |- | ''Plantago patagonica'' var. ''rosulata'' {{small|Jeps.}} | 1901 |data-sort-value=D | variety |}
==Range== ''Plantago elongata'' is native to Canada from British Colombia to Manitoba. In the United States it is native to the states west of Texas and North Dakota with the exception of Nevada, and also to the state of Minnesota.<ref name="POWO" /> It is also native to the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is an introduced species in South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hassler |first1=Michael |date=30 March 2026 |title=''Plantago elongata'' in the Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 26.03 |url= http://www.worldplants.de?name=Plantago-elongata |website=World Plants |language=en |access-date=9 April 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Plantago elongata|position=left}} *[https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=38558 Jepson Manual Treatment] *[https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Plantago+elongata Photo gallery]
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elongata Category:Flora of Western Canada Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States Category:Flora of the South-Central United States Category:Flora of Chihuahua (state) Category:Flora of Kansas Category:Flora of Minnesota Category:Flora of Missouri Category:Flora of Nebraska Category:Flora of North Dakota Category:Flora of Oklahoma Category:Flora of South Dakota
{{Plantaginaceae-stub}}