Wright's Plantain
Plantago wrightiana
Found in sandy, rocky, or gravelly prairies and open woodlands; eastwards in on roadsides, lawns, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- Up to about 1.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- April to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 22 Florida 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.
Who uses this plant?
48CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Plantago
- Acronicta lanceolariaNarrow-Winged Dagger, Lanceolate Dagger
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
- Apantesis vittataBanded Tiger Moth
- Chlosyne nycteisSilvery Checkerspot
- Dypterygia rozmaniAmerican Bird's-Wing
Show all 48
- 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
- Junonia neildiMangrove Buckeye
- Junonia zonalisCaribbean Buckeye, Tropical Buckeye, Florida Buckeye, Smoky Buckeye
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Lithophane bethuneiBethune's Pinion
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper 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
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Phyciodes tharosPearl Crescent, Crescentspot
- Pyrausta subsequalisMottled Pyrausta
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Siproeta stelenesMalachite
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma dubiaDubious 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
- Trichopolia oviducaRuddy Quaker
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
- Virbia laetaJoyful Virbia, Joyful Holomelina
- 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
9BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Plantago
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anser caerulescensSnow Goose
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. 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
Plant details
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 1.5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Plantago hookeriana var. nuda; Wrights Plantain
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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