Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Plantago ovata (Desert Indianwheat, Blond Psyllium; syn. Plantago brunnea Morris, Plantago fastigiata Morris, Plantago gooddingii A. Nels. & Kennedy, Plantago insularis Eastw., Plantago insularis Eastw. var. fastigiata (Morris) Jepson, Plantago insularis Eastw. var. scariosa (Morris) Jepson, Plantago minima A. Cunningham) is a medicinal plant native to Western Asia and Southern Asia. It is a common source of psyllium seed husks, a material used as dietary fiber.

According to a molecular clock analysis by Stephen C. Meyers and Aaron Liston, it was introduced to California 200,000 to 650,000 years ago, so by now can also be safely called a California native.

Plant type

Annual herb

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Soil drainage

Fast

Site type

Sandy or gravelly soils, a

Plant communities

Coastal Sage Scrub, Coastal Strand, Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland

Bees
Butterflies

Pollinators supported

1 confirmed and 29 likely

  • Likely

  • Confirmed

White-lined Sphinx Moth

Hyles lineata

Adela trigrapha

Big-cheeked Mason Bee

Ashmeadiella bucconis

Bombus californicus

See all

Apples

Malus domestica

Blueberries

Vaccinium