Plantago picta Colenso

Rosette plants; primary root 5–11 mm thick. Leaves all basal, 7–50 to per rosette, usually brown, rarely green when dry, usually narrowly obovate or obovate, sometimes narrowly angular–obovate, widest point above middle, 10–93 mm long, 4–28 mm wide; axillary hairs rust coloured, slightly to very visible, up to 4–14 mm long. Lamina obovate or narrowly angular–obovate, widest point usually above middle, rarely at middle,10–93 mm long, not punctate, glabrous or with patches of isolated hairs or sparsely hairy adaxially, usually glabrous or with isolated hairs especially along midrib, rarely sparsely hairy abaxially; hairs patent and 0.4–1.6 mm; veins 1–3; lamina apex usually obtuse, sometimes acute; base attenuate; margins entire or subentire with wavy and irregular margins, with 0–10 minute or small, rarely medium, obtuse, regular teeth up to 0.2–2.1 mm long, with isolated hairs or sparsely hairy especially near teeth; petiole sometimes distinguishable from lamina, 10–36 mm long, 1.6–7.5 mm wide at narrowest point. Inflorescences erect, 1–21 per rosette, 41–210 mm long (including spikes); scapes elongating before anthesis or sessile, not ribbed, 1–184 mm long, 6–10 mm thick at fruiting, sparsely or densely hairy; trichomes antrorse, type ‘i’; spikes usually long and linear–ovoid, sometimes ovoid, 8–33 mm long, 6–10 mm thick at fruiting. Flowers 5–30 per spike, densely crowded; bracts 1 per flower, ovate, broadly ovate or very broadly ovate, acute, 2.1–3.5 mm long, 0.9–2.0 mm wide (as is), 1.6–3.3 mm wide (flattened); bract margins usually sparsely hairy, rarely with isolated hairs and outer surface glabrous; bract axils usually sparsely hairy, rarely with isolated hairs or densely hairy, 1.0–1.8 mm long; calyx shorter or longer than capsule, 2.6–3.5 mm long, 1.8–3.8 mm wide; calyx lobes ovate, acute, 2.5–3.2 mm long, 1.3–2.1 mm wide; calyx lobe margins scarious and usually sparsely ciliate, rarely with isolated hairs only, middle coloured part 0.7–1.2 mm wide, outer surface glabrous; corolla tube 1.4–3.3 mm long, usually longer than lobes; corolla lobes ovate or broadly ovate, usually acute, rarely obtuse, 1.3–2.2 mm long, 0.9–1.5 mm wide; stamen filaments 3.2–7.5 mm long, attached to lower or upper half of corolla tube 0.7–1.8 mm from tube base; anthers 1.9–2.3 mm long (including appendix); style 2.7–6.3 mm long, densely hairy throughout; stigma filiform, undifferentiated from style or rarely with a thin hook; ovary 0.8–2.1 mm long, 0.6–1.7 mm wide; ovules 4–5. Capsules usually ellipsoid, globose, angular obovoid, broadly angular obovoid, rarely broadly ovoid, widest at usually middle, rarely lower or upper half, septum not reaching top of capsule, not forming an upper compartment to one side, 2.1–4.3 mm long, 1.6–3.0 mm wide, 0.9–2.4 mm deep; lower portion 0.9–2.5 mm long, cup-shaped. Seeds 2–5 per capsule, usually of two size classes, rarely uniform, usually ellipsoid, broadly ellipsoid or globose, rarely narrowly ellipsoid, rust, brown, dark brown, 0.7–2.3 mm long, 0.5–1.2 mm wide; edges rounded.

[Reproduced from Meudt (2012, New Zealand J. Bot. 50: 101–178) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]