Ribwort plantain

Look out for ribwort plantain, noticeable now with lacy ruffs of trembling cream coloured anthers on long thread like filaments protruding from dark brown bullet shaped flower heads on tall stalks. Pollen within the anthers is carried away on the wind. It is also known as narrow leaved plantain because of its long thin leaves with obvious parallel veins in a low growing rosette. It grows in grassland, tracks and gateways, where it can withstand trampling. Called slánlus as Gaeilge meaning health plant, it was used in herbal medicine to treat bleeding, inflammation and worm control in animals. Ribwort plantain is part of our native Irish biodiversity