You cannot go anywhere without seeing this herb, considered a weed by many. This is the Broadleaf Plantain, and believe it or not you have probably seen the seeds (ground up, of course) in lots of drugstore, being sold as laxative. The seeds of the close cousin of this plant is actually the famous Psyllium! You will never look at this as a weed again.
Not only do the seeds of this (and it's many cousins) are used as medicine, the leaves and flowers are also edible. It is an introduced species in North America, sometimes also known as "White Man's Footprints" to some, and "Desert Indian Wheat" (at least the psyllium species is) to others.
In Europe and Asia, where the plants came from originally, they are quite popular leaf vegetable and also used for stomach ailments like IBS, and inflammation of cuts and wounds. The plant has a soothing antibacterial property that made it famous for use as poultices.
I will have to remember to pick some plants the next time I go to my vegetable plot.
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