Plantago asiatica

Plantago asiatica, is a self-fertile, perennial flowering plant of genus Plantago. The plant is native to East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, etc.). It grows really well in disturbed areas like roadsides or even dirt roads. It is valued for its use in folk medicine and it also can be used in cooking. Common names include Chinese plantain, obako, arnoglossa, and Asiatic plantain. The plant is a perennial herb that up to 20–60 cm (8–24 in) and has short and thick rootstock with numerous fibrous and fasciculate roots. It has short stems with a rosette of broadly ovate to broadly elliptic leaves. Thin or very thin papery leaf blades are 4–12 cm (2–5 in) long, 2.5–6.5 cm (1–3 in) wide, sparsely pubescent, three to seven veins, obtuse to acute apex, broadly cuneate to surrounded base and decurrent to petiole, margins are entire, repand, serrate or dentate. Petioles 3–10 cm (1–4 in) long, sparsely pubescent. The plant has erect spikes of 20–45 cm (8–18 in) high, with many small, white, hairless flowers, and oval sepals that are 1.8–2 cm (0.7–0.8 in) long, tube corolla with five oval lobes, and four stamens. The fruits are oval-shaped pyxis of 3.5 mm (0.1 in) high and 2 mm (0.08 in)m wide, which have four black seeds inside that are up to 1.8 mm (0.07 in) long. The plant can be a weed in uplands, fields and gardens and it can host aphid and red spider.    Blooming period: April – August, fruiting period: June- September. The plant can grow in many regions, such as mountain slopes, ravines, riverbanks, fields, roadsides, wastelands, lawns. The plant is hardy, and it can grow in all USDA zones. It like the place where is full sun or part shade, and it can adapt to sandy, loamy, and clay soils with good drainage. Acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils are suitable for this plant.   Traditionally, the plant was used to treat liver disease, stomach problems and urinary system inflammation.