Vern: Danichk, Brohi Barz (Baluchi); Aspangara (Sind); Purhat (Pashto) Isabgool, Gola (Kashmiri)

Perennial herb, acaulescent, small to 30 (-60) cm tall. Leaves membranous, narrow lanceolate to narrow elliptic, 10-25 (-40) cm long, 1-3 (-5) cm broad, glabrous slightly pilose or attenuated, acute, at the base narrowed into a narrow petiole, nerves 5. Scapes erect, 15-30 (-60) cm long, sulcate, sparsely covered with white hairs. Spikes dense, conic-cylindrical, subglobose to globose, 1-3 (-4) cm long. Bracts broad ovate, narrowly caudate, 4-5 cm long, erose-undulate, carinate. Sepals 3-3.5 mm long, glabrous or at the margin villose, anterior sepals connate, obovate, bilobed. Corolla lobes narrow ovate to ovate. Seeds 2, smooth.

Lectotype: Specimen of Plantago angustifolia major in hort. Cliff. p. 36, No. 3 (BM) (Verdcourt l.c 6).

Distribution: Europe, North Africa, south Asia to the mountains of TienShan and Pamir Alaj; introduced all over the world.

It is a very variable species, distributed over vast areas in Africa, Europe and Asia. With the limited specimens from Pakistan at my disposal, it was not possible to evaluate the infra specific catagories, however, reference may be made to Pilger, Engl. Pflanzenr. IV, 269 (Heft 102) 315, 1937.

Seeds used as purgative and haemostatic. Leaves are applied to wounds.