1 Introduction.- 2 General Biology of Plantago.- 2.1 Evolutionary Status.- 2.2 Biogeography and Human Effects.- 2.3 General Ecology.- 2.4 General Morphology.- 2.5 Flowering Biology.- 2.6 Breeding Systems in Plantago.- 2.7 Questions Arising from Variation in General Biology.- 3 Distribution of Plantago Species: Characterization of Sites.- 3.1 Phytosociology of Plantago Habitats in The Netherlands and the Relation with Habitat Characteristics.- 3.2 Chemical and Physical Characteristics of the Soil of Plantago Sites.- 3.3 Micrometeorological Characterization of Plantago Species.- 3.4 Interactions with Organisms Other than Plants.- 4 Ecology of Plantago Populations.- 4.1 The Demographic Structure of Populations.- 4.2 Germination and Establishment.- 4.3 Photosynthesis of Plantago lanceolata Populations in the Field.- 4.4 Nitrogen Nutrition in Plantago Species.- 5 Ecophysiology of Plantago Species.- 5.1 Carboxylate Production and Proton Excretion.- 5.2 Mineral Nutrient Concentrations in the Soil and in the Plant.- 5.3 Acquisition and Utilization of Nitrogen.- 5.4 Salinity and Plantago.- 5.5 Low Temperature Tolerance of Plantago coronopus and Plantago maritima as Affected by Salt (NaCl).- 5.6 Seed Germination of Plantago major ssp. major and Plantago lanceolata.- 5.7 Phenotypic Plasticity in Plantago Species.- 6 Genetic Variation Within Plantago Populations.- 6.1 Allozyme Variation and Genetic Structure in Plantago Species.- 6.2 Polymorphism for Caffeic Acid Esters in Populations of Plantago major ssp. pleiosperma.- 6.3 Selection for the Maintenance of Sex Polymorphism in Plantago.- 6.4 Gene Flow Characters and Population Structure in Plantago lanceolata.- 6.5 Ploidy Polymorphism in Plantago media and in Some Other Plantago Species.- 7 Genotypic and Phenotypic Variation Between Plantago Populations and the Relation with the Habitat.- 7.1 Phenotypic Plasticity in Plantago maritima.- 7.2 Ecotypic Differentiation in Plantago major.- 7.3 Ecotypic Differentiation in Plantago lanceolata.- 7.4 The Seed Bank in Relation to Distribution, Abundance and Life History of Plantago Species.- 8 Genetic Strategies in Plantago.- 8.1 The Genetics of Plantago Species.- 8.2 A Population Biological Model of Plantago major: an Attempt to Integrate Genetic, Demographic and Physiological Knowledge.- 9 Conclusions.- 9.1 Comparison of Species.- 9.2 Comparison of Populations.- 9.3 Comparison of Individual Plants and Subpopulations.- References.
