FLORA OF ICELAND elements: Plantago maritima, Sea Plantain, Kattartunga

Plantago maritima; The Sea Plantain is common in coastal regions and inland along the major river valleys and areas with favourable conditions for plant growth. It can also be found in salt marshes (it tolarates a brack/salty environment as long as the drainage properties of the soil is al right). It differs from other plantain species on Iceland by the rather fleshy leaves. One could misstake it for Pl.lanceolata (Ribwort Plantain) but the latter has clearly veined (ribbed) thin leaves which are usually much longer than the leaves of the Sea Plantain
At Rauðisandur (North-west Iceland) I encountered many Sea Plantain plants that had black spots on their leaves. Curious, never seen elsewhere.
It is a member of the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). The Icelandic name of this species is Kattartunga.