Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( White ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Heller's Plantain (Plantago helleri), Plantaginaceae Family, native. annual. blooms April through June

Heller's plantain (Plantago helleri) is a plant that is native to central and southwestern Texas and is typically found growing in sandy, limestoney or gravelly soil. The ones I observed ae growing in almost pure limestone. I think it grows from a winter rossette; however, I am not sure about this. It reaches a height of about 8 to10 inches. The fuzzy leaves are more linear and thinner than some other species of plantain. It blooms from April through June. The flower spike is about 3 to 4 inches long and is on a thick fuzzy spathe. There are many bloom spikes arising from the base of the plant that has a taproot. The bloom petals are whitish and translucent. They turn a brownish-tan color as the blooms age. The blooms are followed by capsules which usually contain 2 seeds. It is a host plant for the common buckeye (Junonia coenia). I could find little information about it on the internet or in my native plant books.

Distribution:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Texas&statefip...

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/140909/index.html

Aging flower spike - "petals" when fresh are whitish and translucent.