Plantago depressa aka Depressed Plantain

Plantago depressa is in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. Its native range starts in southeastern European Russia. It reaches Korea and the Himalayas. Records list Siberia, Mongolia, China, and parts of Central Asia. They also list Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northern India. Kew places it in the temperate climate zone. The RHS says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

The sources do not agree on its life span. Kew calls it annual or biennial: living one or two years. Plants For A Future calls it perennial, living for more years. The records thus leave its life span unclear. Neither source gives a sound garden height or spread. Nor do they give leaf or stem details for this species. Flower colour and fruit form are also unclear. Plants For A Future says flowers have male and female organs. Wind moves the pollen. The plant can also use its own pollen to form seed.

In the Himalayas, it grows on waste ground beneath trees. These sites lie at 5,580–6,230 feet [1,700–1,900 metres]. Plants For A Future lists moist soil that drains well. It lists sand, loam, and clay for this species. The soil can be mildly acid, neutral, or mildly alkaline. The plant can grow in light shade or open sun. The source suggests beds, woodland gardens, and shaded edges. These uses fit the shade where it grows wild. But there is still little evidence on growing it.

Plants For A Future does not confirm its hardiness in Britain. Its separate notes on growing plants cover the genus. They do not deal with this species alone. They thus do not prove how much cold it tolerates. The source says to raise new plants from seed. It suggests sowing in a cold frame in spring. Young plants can move into pots, then outdoors in early summer. It also describes sowing straight outdoors from mid to late spring.

Records note the use of young leaves as food. People eat them raw or cooked. The source calls them food for emergencies, not a staple. It gives the plant a low score for food use. It reports no known hazards. But it gives no evidence on safety for pets. It gives a modest score for use as medicine. The seed notes cover plantains as a group. They do not confirm effects for this species alone. The evidence lists no other uses, named pests, or diseases.