Doronicum plantagineum explained

Doronicum plantagineum, the plantain-leaved leopard's-bane or plantain false leopardbane, is a European plant species in the sunflower family. It is native to southeastern Europe from Greece and Italy to Ukraine and the Czech Republic.^[1] There are reports of the species being naturalized in the State of Oregon in the northwestern United States.^[2]

Doronicum plantagineum is a perennial herb up to 80 cm (2 feet) tall. Leaves are roundish, up to 11 cm (4.4 inches) long. The plant creates yellow flower heads one at a time, each up to 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter and containing both fay florets and disc florets.^[3]

Subspecies

• Doronicum plantagineum subsp. atlanticum (Rouy) Greuter
• Doronicum plantagineum subsp. emarginatum (H.J.Coste) P.Fourn.
• Doronicum plantagineum subsp. plantagineum
• Doronicum plantagineum subsp. tournefortii (Rouy) Cout.

The Latin specific epithet plantagineum refers to the leaves of the plant which are similar to those of a plantain.^[4]

Notes and References

1. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=doronicum+plantagineum Altervista Flora Italiana, Doronico piantagineo, Wegerich-Gämswurz, stor gemsrot, Doronicum plantagineum L.
2. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Doronicum%20plantagineum.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
3. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=110834 Flora of North America, Plantain-leaved leopard’s-bane, Doronicum plantagineum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 885. 1753.
4. W. T. Parsons, William Thomas Parsons and E. G. Cuthbertson