Name: Plantaginaceae
Meaning of Name:
Plantaginaceae, from Latin plantāgō (‘greater plantain [Plantago major]’) + Latin -āceae (the feminine plural of -āceus, ‘resembling’, a suffix used to form the taxonomic family names of plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi)
Common Names:
The plantain or veronica family
Botanical Information:
Plantaginaceae, or the plantain or veronica family, contains just over 100 genera and around 1,900 species. This is a very diverse family, with herbs, shrubs amd even aquatic plants.
The genus Plantago is the type genus, or the one which defines a biological family and which gives the family its name.
Nowadays the Plantaginaceae family is defined phylogenetically by twelve tribes — tribes sit above genus and below family and subfamily.
The photo chosen to illustrate this family shows the leaves and inflorescence of broadleaf plantain (Plantago major).
Image copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
