From the net… “Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain, a kind of banana”
There is a dozen or so species of plantain growing wild in the US.
Plantain is an amazing plant. It can pull or draw out venom from our bodies. I used it when I was bitten by a brown recluse spider. In three days I could no longer see where the spider bit me.
It can also draw out infection. When chewed up and held like a wad of tobacco over a tooth abscess… It will draw out all of the infection. It won’t cure what caused the abscess but it will buy you lots of time to figure out what you need to do.
Funny thing that always gets a laugh in my plant classes… Most of us here are older… We’ve all heard of “Metamucil”. If you look at the label of a bottle of Metamucil you will see… Psyllium fiber capsules.
If you google “Psyllium” you will find it is a name of a plant in India, Plantago psyllium, yes, another plantain. Other medicinal qualities of the plantago’s... They will sooth the G/I tract, will help lower cholesterol, lower A1C levels for folks with type 2 diabetes.
The are 4 species of small trees that grow east of the great plains. The one most common where I live… Aralia spinosa aka Devil’s Walking Stick and Tooth Ache tree.
The inner bark will numb your mouth up just like a shot of Novocain. A couple of times I’ve had people in my class willing to give it a try. It will numb your cheeks, tongue and gums, just a powerful as any shot the dentist might give you. It's always funny to hear someone speak with a completely numb mouth. It lasts about 20 minutes.
The other tooth ache trees are Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, Zanthoxylum hirsutum, and Zanthoxylum fagara aka Prickly Ash. Its also thorny but nothing like the devil’s walking stick.
Prickly Ash has too many other medicinal uses to list here. I will say it’s a good tree to know, in my top 10 list for medicine.
Although I’ve never read of this use… I’m pretty sure the tooth ache trees could be used for a Tonsillectomy or other minor esophagus surgeries.
After I shoot my mouth off.
