The Dark Soul of Alpine Pastures

Habit: Perennial herbaceous plant with a woody, vertical rhizome, characterised by a rosette of leaves closely appressed to the ground from which the flowering scape rises, reaching a height of 5 to 40 cm. Stem: Leafless (aphyllous), cylindrical, and without grooves. It shows variable hairiness: the hairs are spreading in the lower part, while becoming appressed upward, near the inflorescence. Leaves: All basal and arranged in a rosette according to a spiral order. The blade varies from linear to lanceolate, is flat, and traversed by 3–7 clearly visible parallel veins. Its dimensions range from 7–14 mm in width to 5–30 cm in length. The margin is generally entire, sometimes with a few scattered small teeth, and the surface appears villous. Flowers: Gathered in a dense, very compact, dark brown oval spike. The bracts are nearly round or reniform, dark-coloured with a greenish central keel. Each flower has a membranous corolla with 4 spreading lobes and 4 yellowish-brown stamens projecting markedly from the corolla to favour wind pollination. Fruits: A pyxidium, a particular brown oval capsule that opens transversely at maturity by means of a “lid” to release one or two rugose seeds. Flowering: May–July.

Chorological type: Southern European orophyte. Distribution in Italy: Present in almost all Italian regions, following the Apennine chain and the Alpine arc. Habitat: Typically found in alpine and subalpine pastures, especially in high-altitude grasslands. It colonises mountain environments between 900 and 2700 m a.s.l.

Generic name (Plantago): Derived from the Latin plánta (sole of the foot). The reference is linked to the shape of the leaves of some species of this genus (such as P. major), which recall the imprint left by a foot on the ground. Specific name (atrata): From the Latin áter (black, dark). The epithet refers to the brownish-black colour of the inflorescence, which gives the plant a sombre, mournful appearance compared with other lighter plantains.

Like many other plantains, it possesses minor medicinal properties and is sometimes used in folk medicine as a vulnerary (to heal wounds) or to soothe insect bites, thanks to the presence of mucilages and tannins in the leaves.