Is there any child that has not played at 'Soldiers' or at 'Lords and
Ladies,' with the flower-heads of the Ribwort Plantain? It is common
everywhere, and flowers from spring to autumn.
The narrow pointed leaves grow in a circle straight from the root. They
are dark green on one side, and silvery green on the other, and have
long 'ribs' running from the bottom to the top. From these 'ribs' the
plant gets its name of 'Ribwort.'
The flowers are closely crowded together in brown, cone-shaped heads.
Each flower consists of a narrow white tube, with four graceful yellow
points folded back at the mouth.
The large yellow heads of the stamens stand up beyond the mouth of this
tube, but you can scarcely see the tip of the seed-vessel which is
hidden inside.
When the flowers are fully out, you do not notice the white tubes; all
you see is a big cluster of fuzzy yellow-headed stamens.
There are four small green sepals at the bottom of the flower-tube, and
these sepals are often stained with brown blotches.
The stems are ribbed all the way up and are covered with short hairs.
They are juicy and very easily broken.