Family: Plantain [Plantaginaceae] |
Antirrhinum |
Callitriche |
Chaenorhinum |
Cymbalaria |
Digitalis |
Erinus |
Gratiola |
Hebe |
Hippuris |
Kickxia |
Linaria |
Littorella |
Misopates |
Parahebe |
Plantago |
Sibthorpia |
Veronica |
A new and recent entrant to the Plantain Family is Foxglove, which was formerly allocated to the Foxglove and Figwort (Scrophulariaceae)Family (which sounds sensible, but is apparently now wrong according to taxonomists). But it must be said that Foxglove bears no visual semblance whatsoever to any other member of the Plantain Family, and one cannot even hazard a guess as to what feature(s) taxonomists have found in common between Foxgloves and Plantains.
A great many Figwort Family Genus have moved from the Figwort Family [Scrophulariaceae] to other Families. Many, but not all, have been moved into either the Plantain [Plantaginaceae] or the Broomrape [Orobanchaceae] Families.
The following Genera have moved from the Figwort Family [Scrophulariaceae] into the Plantain Family [Plantaginaceae]: In addition, the Water Starwort Family [Callitrichaceae] has been subsumed into this, the Plantain Family. It contained just one Genus: Callitriche. The Family Name Callitrichaceae has been retained in the AGPII system, albeit empty of Genera! It may be that the family Hippuridaceae has been similarly retained? Mare's-tail used to be in the Mare's Tail [Hippuridaceae] Family until taxonomists decided that the Plantain Family suited it better. There was just one Genus associated with it: Hippuris. The Veronica Genus is split up into 10 Sub-Genera: Beccabunga, Pseudolysimachium, Cochilidiosperma, Pellidosperma, Stenocarpon, Pocilla, Pentasepalae, Chamaedrys, Pseudoveronica and Veronica; all having the same Latinesque forename Veronica (V.) All this re-organization has caused chaos, not least in the book 'New Flora of the British Isles' by Clive Stace where only some of the Genera have been moved into other Families, leaving many others 'as was', particularly in the (now abolished) Veronicaceae, Callitrichaceae and Hippuridaceae ex-families. In the case of Speedwells, Veronicaceae no longer exists, and Speedwells are now in Veroniceae which is a Tribe within the Plantaginaceae family. The Plantain Family should not be confused with a plant of similar name that looks rather like a banana. The Plantain vegetables (not fruits, as are bananas) belong to the Musaceae Family, and have no representation in the UK.
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[PLANTAGO] Plantains
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Buck's-horn Plantain. (Plantago coronopus) | Photo: © RWD |
Sea Plantain. (Plantago maritima) | Photo: © RWD |
Ribwort Plantain. (Plantago lanceolata) | Photo: © RWD |
Greater Plantain (Plantago major) | Photo: © RWD |
Hoary Plantain (Plantago media) | Photo: © RWD |
[DIGITALIS] Foxgloves
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Foxglove [Digitalis purpurea] | Photo: © RWD |
Straw Foxglove (Digitalis lutea) | Photo: © Dawn Nelson |
[ERINUS] Fairy foxglove
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Fairy Foxglove (Erinus alpinus) | Photo: © RWD |
[ANTIRRHINUM] Snapdragon
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Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) | Photo: © RWD |
[MISOPATES] Weasel's-Snouts
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Weasel's Snout (Misopates orontium) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
[LINAREA] Toadflaxes
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[Linaria] TOADFLAX HYBRID CHART |
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Purple Toadflax. Linarea purpurea | Photo: © RWD |
Common Toadflax. (Linarea vulgaris) | Photo: © RWD |
Pale Toadflax (Linaria repens) | Photo: © RWD |
Annual Toadflax (Linaria maroccana) | Photo: © RWD |
[CHAENORHINUM] Toadflaxes
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Small Toadflax (Chaenorhinum minus) | Photo: © Bastiaan Brak |
[KICKXIA] Fluellens
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Round-Leaved Fluellen (Kickxia spuria) | Photo: © Bastiaan Brak |
Sharp-Leaved Fluellen (Kickxia elatine) | Photo: © Bastiaan Brak |
[CULTIVAR]
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Canon Went (a Toadflax Cultivar) | Photo: © RWD |
[VERONICA] Speedwells
A group of herbaceous annuals and perennials, or evergreen shrubs. Sometimes woody at the base. The lower leaves are opposite, the upper ones sometimes alternate. The flowers are zygomorphic, having bi-lateral symmetry. The flowers are solitary, and either grow in the leaf axils or in terminal or axillary racemes. They have four petals, with the top petal actually being a fusion of two petals, hence it is the widest of the four. The bottom petal is the narrowest of the four. They have but two stamens usually protruding. |
Hedge Veronica (Veronica × franciscana), being the hybrid between Veronica elliptica and Veronica speciesa cannot be shown on the Hybrid chart because neither parent is native to the UK, although the sibling Hedge Veronica does occur wild in the UK as evidenced by the Hedge Veronica BSBI Distribution Map. |
Veronica SPECIES LACKING HYBRIDS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) | Photo: © RWD |
Blue Water-Speedwell (Veronica anagallis-aquatica) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Mike Cotterill |
Pink Water-Speedwell (Veronica catenata) | Photo: © RWD |
Spiked Speedwell (Veronica spicata) | Photo: © RWD |
Garden × Spiked Speedwell (Veronica spicata × longifolia) | Photo: © RWD |
Ivy-Leaved Speedwell Veronica hederifolia ssp. lucorum | Photo: © RWD |
Heath Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) | Photo: © RWD |
Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis) | Photo: © RWD |
Wood Speedwell (Veronica montana) | Photo: © RWD |
Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) | Photo: © RWD |
Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis) | Photo: © RWD |
Thyme-Leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Rock Speedwell (Veronica fruticans) | Photo: © John Law |
Green Field-Speedwell (Veronica agrestis) | Photo: © Mike Baldwin |
Common Field-Speedwell (Veronica persica) | Photo: © RWD |
American Speedwell (Veronica peregrina) | Photo: © RWD |
Grey-Field Speedwell (Veronica politica) | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Marsh Speedwell (Veronica scutellata) | Photo: © Paula O'Meara |
[HIPPURIS] Mare's-tail
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Mare's-tail. (Hippuris vulgaris) | Photo: © RWD |
[CALLITRICHE] Water-Starworts
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Common Water-Starwort (Callitriche stagnalis) | Photo: © RWD |
Family: Plantain [Plantaginaceae] |