| a common plantain weed, Plantago lanceolata, having narrow basal leaves and a dense head of small, whitish flowers. |
plan·tain 1  (plān'tən)  n. Any of various plants of the genus Plantago that produce dense spikes of small greenish flowers, especially either of two Eurasian weeds, P. major or P. lanceolata. Also called ribwort. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin plantāgō, plantāgin-, from planta, sole of the foot (from its broad leaves); see plat- in Indo-European roots.] |
| rib·wort (rĭb'wûrt', -wôrt') n. See plantain1. |
