Plantaginaceae

Leaves usually clustered in a flat basal rosette with strong parallel-arched veins; tiny, wind-pollinated flowers pack tightly along a dense, leafless flowering spike that rises well above the leaves.

Seeds throughout the genus Plantago swell into a slippery mucilaginous gel on contact with water — the same fibre-rich coating harvested commercially as psyllium husk.

To check whether a plant belongs to Plantaginaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.