Plantago crassifolia var. crassifolia inflorescences

These Plantago crassifolia var. crassifolia flowers were photographed during May. Numerous tiny florets are present on the erect, stem-tipped spikes borne on sturdy, bare, brown peduncles. Both calyces and corollas are four-lobed, the corolla tubes short and their lobes membranous. There are four stamens, their whitish anthers conspicuously exserted. The globose, superior ovary has two locules, the style hairy and exserted.

The fruit is a membranous, boat-shaped capsule.

The other variety of this South African endemic is var. hirsuta found in the Eastern Cape (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Mustart, et al, 1997; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; https://www.botanikks.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).