Flowering plants. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Carpet. Photo: Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, NSW

Flowering plant. Photo: Russell Best, Murray-Sunset National Park

Flowering plant. Photo: Russell Best, Wyperfeld National Park

Common Name

Dark Sago Weed, Sago Weed

Family

Plantaginaceae

Notes

Annual or short lived perennial forb to 30cm tall.  Leaves in a basal rosette, 2-17cm long, 3-25mm wide, flat, hairy, toothed or obscurely toothed.  Flowers sometimes small (less than 3mm across) tubular, with 4 white 'petals',  in cylindrical dark brown to black spikes on stalks arising from the base of the plant.dark brown to black, in cylindrical spikes on stalks arising from the base of the plant.

Differs from Plantago cunninghamii, Plantago turrifera, and Plantago varia in that the 'seeds' are 3-5 mm long, and are pear shaped to almost broadly elliptical. Probably needs at least a hand lens to see.

Short description and photo (page 618) and line drawing of 'seed' (Fig. 62c) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Plantago~drummondii