The Black Range

Wooly Plantain - Plantago patagonica
East of Hillsboro, New Mexico, USA

Plantago patagonica, Wooly Plantain, is a widespread species, being found in most of North America - from the middle tier of Canada south to northern Mexico (and parts of Argentina and Chile in South America).  The specific name of this species makes since, in that, it was described by Nicolaus Jacquin in the late 1700’s from a specimen collected in Patagonia - that is, from the South American, rather than the North American, population.

Being widespread is often synonymous with multiple names, such is the case with the Wooly Plantain.  There are, at least, a dozen scientific synonyms for this species 

There are few records of the native food sources of the Apache or Mogollon cultures, but the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Pima all used this plant for medicinal purposes, as well as for food.  The University of Michigan maintains an excellent index of ethnobotany of the American indigenous peoples.