Definition: A plant genus of the family Plantaginaceae, order Plantaginales, subclass Asteridae, class Magnoliopsida. The small plants usually have a dense tuft of basal leaves and long, leafless stalks bearing a terminal spike of small flowers. The seeds, known as PSYLLIUM, swell in water and are used as laxatives. The leaves have been used medicinally.
Xref PLANTAIN: for the banana-like fruit or green plantain flour use MUSA; coord with specific PLANT STRUCTURES term if pertinent; for use in therapy coord IM with PHYTOTHERAPY (IM) + disease/drug ther (IM) + PLANT PREPARATION or its indentations/ther us
See AlsoPsyllium
Other names Plantain; Plantains; Plantagos; Plantaginaceae
