Blackseed Plantain
Plantago rugelii
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in roadsides, lawns, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
69
Strong
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 20 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to November
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 47 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 69 animals.
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Widespread birds also seen here (58)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
50CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Plantago
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apantesis annaAnna Tiger Moth
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis figurataFigured Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Apantesis partheniceParthenice Tiger Moth
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Apantesis vittataBanded Tiger Moth
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
Show all 50
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Lithophane bethuneiBethune's Pinion
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Neodactria caliginosellusCorn Webworm, Corn Root Webworm, Sooty Crambus
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
- Pseudorthodes vecorsSmall Brown Quaker, Small Brown Groundcat
- Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma dubiaDubious Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Tricholita signataSignate Quaker, Signate Groundcat
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
- Virbia laetaJoyful Virbia, Joyful Holomelina
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
5BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Plantago
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
5BirdsRecorded eating Plantago in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Snow GooseLeaves and roots. 2 diet records
- Vesper Sparrow2 diet records
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
- Canada GooseRoots. 1 diet record
- Spotted TowheeSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Plantago 5
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Snow GooseChen caerulescens
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Flower color
- White, green or brown
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White, green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 20 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Black Seed Plantain; Rugels Plantain
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications