Plantago obconica

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Plantago obconica is a very small flowering plant in the plantain family, native only to the South Island of New Zealand. It was first collected in 1983 and described in 1988 by botanist William Sykes. It is the smallest Plantago species in New Zealand.

Description in brief:
- A perennial rosette plant with very narrow, keeled leaves (up to about 26 mm long).
- Up to about 27 linear leaves in a rosette; tiny rust-colored hairs near the base.
- Short flowering stalks with globe-like spikes of 1–8 flowers.
- The fruit is a dry capsule with an inverted-cone (obconic) base; 2.5–7.2 mm long, containing 3–10 seeds.

Flowering and habitat:
- Flowers in December and January; fruits from January to March.
- Endemic to Marlborough, Canterbury and Otago, occurring in high-elevation wetlands, bogs and seepage areas from about 1,270 to 1,740 m above sea level.

Conservation and relations:
- NZ Threat Classification: At Risk - Naturally Uncommon; range restricted, sparse and data poor.
- Closely related to P. triandra; the name obconica comes from its funnel-shaped fruit.

Taxonomy:
- Family Plantaginaceae; genus Plantago; species obconica; chromosome number n = 12.