The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Plantago asiatica
Also called Asian Plantain, Asian Psyllium, Psyllium
Chinese plantain is a perennial herb from East Asia that forms a rosette of broad leaves and sends up flower spikes. It is hardy and tolerant of disturbed ground, so it grows well in sun or part shade with good drainage.
Plantago asiatica, is a self-fertile, perennial species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, etc.). It grows well in disturbed areas such as 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 hardy, and it can grow in all USDA zones. It likes 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.
The pollen has allergenic glycoproteins and components that can bind IgE which can mediated sensitization, contributing to seasonal allergy.
The plant can grow in many regions, such as mountain slopes, ravines, riverbanks, fields, roadsides, wastelands, lawns.
Traditionally, the plant was used to treat liver disease, stomach problems and urinary system inflammation.
Buckhorn plantain · Dotseed plantain · Branched Plantain · Ribwort Plantain · Greater Plantain · Goose tongue · Hoary Plantain · Desert Indianwheat · Plantain
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Plantago asiatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
