Plantain (Plantago major) Photo by Linda Ursin
Sorry for the wait. Here’s the next of the weeds.
Plantain is a familiar plant to most of us. It grows from a short rhizome and forms a rosette of dark green leaves that lie close to the ground. The flowers are borne on a narrow spike, earning the species the alternative name of ‘rats’ tails’.
The flower spikes are normally longer on this species than its relatives.
It’s abundant beside paths, roadsides, walkways, driveways, and other areas with frequent soil compaction. It’s also common in grasslands and mixed in with crops.
Latin name:Plantago major
Synonym(s): Broad-leaved Plantain. Ripple Grass. Waybread. Slan-lus. Waybroad. Snakeweed. Cuckoo’s Bread. Englishman’s Foot. White Man’s Foot, (Anglo-Saxon) Weybroed.
Family:Plantaginaceae
Main constituents
Iridoids; aucubin, 3,4-dihydroaucubin,6′-O-beta-glucosylaucubin, catalpol
Flavonoids; apigenin, lutelin, scutellarin, baicalein, nepetin, hispidulin plantagoside
Miscellaneous; tannin, oleanolic acid, plant acids such as chlorogenic, neochlorogenic, fumaric, hydroxycinnamic and benzoic acids and theiresters.
Actions: Vulnerary, expectorant, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, astringent, diuretic, anti-microbial
Uses
Medical
Plantain is good for a number of skin conditions and it’s said that it helps the itching from mosquito bites. Pick a leaf and rub it on. The leaves are used for urethral infections, burns, bee stings, hemorrhoids and conjunctivitis. They are muciferous and mucolytic. The plant mucus can lower the cholesterol level. It’s used to cure sore throat and wounds in the mouth, caused by infections. It’s also very suitable to treat aphonia or coarse voice. Apply mouthwashes with the liquid of an infusion on a teaspoon of dry leaves in a cup of water. The antibacterial properties of this plant can be profited to eliminate microorganisms produced by respiratory tract diseases.
Plantain has been proven to be a good haemostatic plant, that’s to say it favors blood coagulation in wounds. Poultices are used to treat inflamed wounds and to help wounds heal. The leaves can be put directly onto insect bites, cuts and chafes.
The underside of the leaf is considered to be drawing. Wash the leaf before you put the underside of the leaf against the wound. When the matter is out you put the leaf on with the topside against the skin. This stimulates the wound to heal.
Being very rich in tannins, it has got astringent properties, very adequate to stop diarrhea. Take a teaspoon of dry leaves for a cup of water and make an infusion. Drink 3 cups a day. This very infusion is suitable for colon inflammation (colitis) or intestine inflammation (enterocolitis) . A couple of spoonfuls a day of syrup (see recipes) helps to diminish pain caused by a stomach ulcer.
The seeds can be used to treat constipation. Take from 1 to 3 spoonfuls of seeds a day with a lot of water, a couple of liters of water as minimum. Otherwise, it may produce intestine occlusions.
The juice of plantain exerts a diuretic function so that it seems profitable in slimming diets (Infusion of a teaspoon of dry leaves in a cup of water. Drink a cup every day.)
For gout sufferers with limited access to medical care, plantain may offer a good solution. The leaves contain aucubin, which reportedly speeds the excretion of uric acid via the kidneys. A cup of tea made from a handful of leaves drunk every two to three hours will speed the elimination process.
Magical
If people carry with themselves the entire plant, they are protected from evil spells. Bind with red wool to the head to cure headaches. Like Mugwort, you can place in your shoes to cure weariness on long trips. Hang it in your car to prevent evil from entering. Carrying the root protects from snakebite. Said to cause regeneration – Pliny claimed that if several pieces of flesh are boiled in a pot with Plantain, it will join them again. Spells to find honesty, or make you more honest might benefit from the inclusion of plantain.
This is the plant of Helheim, the land of the Dead. Its shamanic uses are many and varied and rather subtle. It said to be able to create a certain amount of invisibility for a short period of time. It can be used in recels to speak to the ancestors, or to find your way to the Helvegr. Its name “waybread” echoes this usage – waybread will help you find the way.
If you actually manage to get yourself astrally wounded, plantain is the plant to resort to. In some cases, it can even save you from astral death, if your body is still healthy.
Cosmetic
Plantain oil is widely used in cosmetics, salves, lip balms, body oils, etc. Mostly for its soothing properties, but also for cell regeneration. A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion. Susun Weed recommends using plantain oil on babies and small children instead of lotions or vaseline.
Culinary
Young leaves, raw or cooked are used in salads. They are rather bitter and tedious to prepare because the fibrous strands need to be removed before use. It is best not to use the leaf-stalk since this is even more fibrous than the leaf. Many people blanch the leaves in boiling water before using them in order to make them more tender.
The seed can be ground into a meal and mixed with flour. It is very rich in vitamin B1. The whole seeds can be boiled and used like sago. The dried leaves make an acceptable tea.
Cultivation
Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in a sunny position. Although this species is a common garden weed, some named forms have been selected for their ornamental value. Sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer. A sowing can be made outdoors in situ in mid to late spring if you have enough seeds.
It’s a common “weed” in Britain and many other parts of the world. It is very common and widespread throughout Europe, in north Africa, northern and central Asia. It has become naturalized in most temperate parts of the world, including the US.
Harvest
Gather throughout the summer. Dry as fast as possible as the leaves will discolor if dried improperly.
Recipes
Medical
Cosmetic
Plantain Leaf salve
Antifungal/Antibacterial Salve
Baby Salve
Fun Facts
Evidence of this species has been found in pre-Neolithic deposits.
It’s said that Alexander the Great used Plantago major to alleviate his migraine headaches.
In Europe and in the United States plantain poultices were used to treat snakebites and scorpion stings. Rubbing with leaves neutralizes poisonous effects of bee, hornet, and wasp stings, as well as mosquito bites.
The seeds are relished by most small birds and quantities of the ripe spikes are gathered near London for the supply of cage birds.
The leaves are a food source to many butterfly caterpillars.
The Saxons esteemed it highly and in the old Lacnunga the Weybroed is mentioned as one of nine sacred herbs. In this most ancient source of Anglo-Saxon medicine, we find this ‘salve for flying venom’:
‘Take a handful of hammer wort and a handful of maythe (chamomile) and a handful of waybroad and roots of water dock, seek those which will float, and one eggshell full of clean honey, then take clean butter, let him who will help to work up the salve, melt it thrice: let one sing a mass over the worts, before they are put together and the salve is wrought up.
Some people confuse this plant with something else they call Plantain. Plantago major is something that grows in peoples lawns and by the side of the road. It’s a small plant, about 3-6″ across, and it doesn’t produce any fruits, just a inconspicuous flowers and seeds. It’s common to find that different things have the same name, but the official english name for this one is Plantain.
Some refer to this fruit as Plantain:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pe/page9.htm
http://www.botany.wisc.edu/greenhouse/Roomfour-Mu.html
http://www.floridata.com/ref/m/musa.cfm
Its latin name is Musa x paradisiaca and it’s a crossbreed developed by crossing and re-crossing two wild species: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana
Over here it’s just called ‘Williams Cavendish’ Banana or cooking banana since it’s a relative of the regular banana.
Oh, I just love plantain! I have on my lawn, but not enought of it to harvest it, so I’m planting it in a herbal garden this spring.
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I love it too. It’s one of my favorites. I don’t have enough in my garden to harvest, but I take a walk in the neighborhood and come back with enough. I’m fortunate enough to have the forest next door, and a wide forest hiking trail.