Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Plantago
Species: P. triandra
Binomial name: Plantago triandra
Synonyms: Plantago hamiltonii, Plantago masoniae, Plantago triandra subsp. masoniae
Common names: Glossy plantain; Starweed
Plantago triandra is a native plant that forms rosulate clumps of leaves which are broadly lanceolate to linear, 5-8cm long.
It has solitary flowers December to March, they are hidden by the leaf bases, with the bracts and sepals about 1mm long. Seed capsules are on erect scapes 3-6cm long. It grows through out New Zealand in damp areas in tussock grassland and scrub land. It is found usually in montane to subalpine areas but in Stewart Island it can be coastal.
Photographed at Otari Wilton Bush Reserve, Wellington.
The tiny flower.
