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Plantago ovata
Also called Blond plantain, Ispaghu, Indian Plantago, Indian Plantain, Blond Psyllium, Blonde Ispaghula, Ispaghul
Desert Indianwheat is a small annual herb in the plantain family, grown mainly as a commercial source of psyllium seed husk, a dietary fiber. It needs full sun, well-drained soil, and little water.
Plantago ovata, known by many common names including blond plantain, desert Indianwheat, blond psyllium, and isabghol, is native to the Mediterranean region and naturalized in central, eastern, and south Asia and North America.
A common source of psyllium, ground psyllium seed husks are indigestible, providing a source of soluble dietary fiber which may be fermented into butyric acid – a short-chain fatty acid – by butyrate-producing bacteria. Plantago ovata is commonly used for commercial products containing psyllium.
Chinese Plantain · Buckhorn plantain · Dotseed plantain · Branched Plantain · Ribwort Plantain · Greater Plantain · Goose tongue · Hoary Plantain · Plantain
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Plantago ovata 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.
