Plantain

Plantain (Plantago spp.) is one of my favorite beginner herbs. It is ubiquitous. It is distinctive and, therefore, easy to identify and hard to confuse. It is also versatile, easy to use on the spot but useful for making preparations ahead of time, too.

Two distinct varieties of plantain are found across the United States. They are notably different from one another in the appearance of the leaves; however, the two plants still bear a strong similarity to each other overall, and both are easy to recognize.

Plantago major

Plantago lanceolata

Plantain’s Therapeutic Actions & Preparations

Plantain is analgesic, anti-inflammatory, mucilaginous, and anti-venomous, making it an excellent option for insect bites and stings, especially as it is so likely to be readily at hand when one is stung. For this purpose, it is quite simple to merely pluck a leaf, chew it up, then spit it out and place on the bite to form an impromptu poultice.

Plantain also has other actions which make it broadly useful for first aid purposes. Not only analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-venomous, it is also antiseptic, styptic, vulnerary, and mildly antibiotic. This enables it to be used for the aforementioned bites and stings, but also for bruises, burns, cuts, scrapes, and other wounds.

An infusion is an easy multi-purpose preparation for plantain. An infusion of the leaves is prepared like a strong tea, steeped, covered, for about twenty minutes. This infusion may be taken internally to assist with wound healing (or for other purposes not addressed in this post), or applied externally to bites, stings, cuts, burns, or bruises. The infusion can also be used to prepare a cold fomentation for application to a sprain. It can even be used to rinse irritated eyes.

The disadvantage of an infusion is that it takes a little while to prepare and does not keep well. That makes it a poor choice when you need an immediate solution. For this reason, I prefer to also have an ointment on hand. My ointment is simple, consisting only of plantain leaf-infused olive oil with a little beeswax melted in to thicken it, and some vitamin E as a preservative. We use this ointment in place of traditional antibiotic ointment.

Plantain Seeds

The seeds of plantain bear mention, as most beginner wildcrafters will overlook them. Plantain seeds are the source of “psyllium husk,” which many people are familiar with as a mucilaginous form of beneficial fiber!  “Psyllium husk” is actually derived from a specific variety of plantain, but the average backyard varieties are useful for the same purpose, just not quite as effective.

The seeds should be soaked in cold water or juice, then stirred up and drunk. Given the nature of the fiber, this will help with constipation and can also help with some cases of diarrhea.

 
References:
Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: The science and practice of herbal medicine (p. 574). Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.
Petersen, D. (2015). HERB 201: Herbal Studies (pp. 48-55). Portland, OR: American College of Healthcare Sciences.

Disclaimer: The information in this post is provided for educational purposes only.