Desert Plantain
Plantago ovata
The seeds of this plant are the primary source of psyllium husk, a soluble fiber that can absorb up to ten times its weight in water to form a thick gel.
- Scientific name
- Plantago ovata
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Plantaginaceae › Plantago
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- desert
- Habitat
- Arid deserts, sandy plains, dry shrublands, and disturbed desert soils.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- Range
- Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert, North Africa, South Asia, Mediterranean Basin
- Size
- 5 to 30 cm in height
- Lifespan
- Annual (less than 1 year)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to desert urbanization, overgrazing, and shifting rainfall patterns from climate change.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely approach and touch this plant. Its seeds become sticky when wet due to high mucilage content. No special precautions are needed, but avoid trampling delicate desert soil crusts while observing.
Plantago ovata , known by many common names including blond plantain , desert Indianwheat , blond psyllium , and ispaghul , is a medicinal plant native to Western and Southern Asia. The plant can be found growing wild in the southwestern United States, where it is considered a possibly introduced species.
Photo: Jim Morefield, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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