Plantain or Plantago is a genus of medicinal plants. World wide there are a dozen or so species, all of them originally grew in the northern hemisphere. There are 4 or 5 species native to north America. The one most commonly found east of the Mississippi river is Plantago virginica or Virginia plantain.
All of these species are commonly called “Plantain’. There is a banana fruit also commonly called Plantain, it’s completely unrelated.
I’ve posted pictures of 3 species commonly found in the eastern US. (1) Lanceleaf plantain or Plantago lanceolata is native to England, it’s sometimes called English plantain. (2) Common plantain or Plantago major is native to Europe. (3) The last one is native to North America – Virginia plantain.
Lance leaf Plantain
Common Plantain
Virginia Plantain
Settlers brought lance leaf and common plantain with them. Native Americans called these plants “White man’s foot prints” because were ever a settler went one of these plantains appeared. They were that important as a medicine.
These 3 plantains can be used interchangeably as medicine, I’ve used all 3. I most often use lance leaf because it’s the easiest to find. I only see Virginia plantain from late January to late April.
Common plantain grows from late March to late fall but it’s very rare during the heat of summer. It rarely grows in the wild, it’s a very “people friendly” plant. I most often find it in the suburbs or in small towns. It’s usually found in very shady places, like the north side of house where there is a leaky faucet. It loves water and shade. It tends to grow in thick patches.
The leaves of common plantain vary in size. In the photos the leaves are about the size and shape of a lemon. I have seen it with leaves larger than my hand. Its leaves share a common trait with its English cousin, both have very pronounced veins. Virginia plantain has no veins. All 3 species put up noticeable seed stalks
Lance Leaf Plantain is the most common of the 3. It’s a very hardy plant. I’ve found it growing in January and under the August sun in Alabama. It’s not people friendly, it loves wild places. I find it most often on the shoulders of roads or the edge of fields. It will grow at the edge of a lawn if you run your lawnmower at the highest setting.
As medicines… Plantain has one very unique property, modern medicine has no equivalent. It can “draw out”. It’s not the only plant that can do this but it’s chief among the group. Say you have a spider bite or wasp sting or even a snake bite, it can draw out the venom. Say you have an abscessed tooth, it can draw out the infection, just chew it up like a wad of tobacco and hold it between your cheek and gum. It won't heal what caused the abscess but will buy you a few days until you can get to a dentist. It can also draw out the infection from a shallow infected cut.
Its other greatest attribute is its ability to heal our skin. It causes a cut or abrasion to heal much faster than normal. It will even cause a very serious wound or cut to seal quickly. There is a danger here… it can close a wound so quickly that infection can be trapped deep inside. If I needed to treat a deep cut or wound there are several plants I would use. Plantain is on the list but only after I was sure there was no deep infection. Plantain it great for any sore in the mouth or ulcer or boil.
There are dozens of other uses for Plantain but I’m going to skip those… The herb books I’ve posted in the library go into these in great detail.
Highlights… I posted in another thread – Virginia plantain is the first plant I used to heal. I had a serious brown recluse spider bite. After three days, I could no longer see where the spider bit me. I would chew a plantain leaf to break the cell structure. I would hold the chewed leaf on the bite with a band aid. I put on a fresh leaf every time the old one dried out, about every 4 hours.
If I made a list of the 11 plants I use most often as medicine... plantain is on the list… I use plantain more often than the other 10 combined. This plant is my “go to”, any kind of insect bite, cut, scrape, sore, boil… It’s the best thing going for poison ivy! In the warm months of the year I use plantain almost daily. I understand why the early settlers took plantain with them everywhere they went.
And for comic relief… my favorite fun fact about plantain! If you look at a bottle of Metamucil at the bottom of the label you will see the words “Psyllium Fiber Capsules”
Health Benefits of Psyllium
Psyllium is a form of fiber made from the husks of the Plantago ovata plant’s seeds. It sometimes goes by the name ispaghula.
Plantago? If you have ever taken a Metamucil capsule you have swallowed Plantain. Is plantain safe? millions of people swallow a plantain capsule everyday.
Plantago ovata is grown commercially in India/Spain and Portugal to make Metamucil.
All of these species are commonly called “Plantain’. There is a banana fruit also commonly called Plantain, it’s completely unrelated.
I’ve posted pictures of 3 species commonly found in the eastern US. (1) Lanceleaf plantain or Plantago lanceolata is native to England, it’s sometimes called English plantain. (2) Common plantain or Plantago major is native to Europe. (3) The last one is native to North America – Virginia plantain.
Lance leaf Plantain
Common Plantain
Virginia Plantain
Settlers brought lance leaf and common plantain with them. Native Americans called these plants “White man’s foot prints” because were ever a settler went one of these plantains appeared. They were that important as a medicine.
These 3 plantains can be used interchangeably as medicine, I’ve used all 3. I most often use lance leaf because it’s the easiest to find. I only see Virginia plantain from late January to late April.
Common plantain grows from late March to late fall but it’s very rare during the heat of summer. It rarely grows in the wild, it’s a very “people friendly” plant. I most often find it in the suburbs or in small towns. It’s usually found in very shady places, like the north side of house where there is a leaky faucet. It loves water and shade. It tends to grow in thick patches.
The leaves of common plantain vary in size. In the photos the leaves are about the size and shape of a lemon. I have seen it with leaves larger than my hand. Its leaves share a common trait with its English cousin, both have very pronounced veins. Virginia plantain has no veins. All 3 species put up noticeable seed stalks
Lance Leaf Plantain is the most common of the 3. It’s a very hardy plant. I’ve found it growing in January and under the August sun in Alabama. It’s not people friendly, it loves wild places. I find it most often on the shoulders of roads or the edge of fields. It will grow at the edge of a lawn if you run your lawnmower at the highest setting.
As medicines… Plantain has one very unique property, modern medicine has no equivalent. It can “draw out”. It’s not the only plant that can do this but it’s chief among the group. Say you have a spider bite or wasp sting or even a snake bite, it can draw out the venom. Say you have an abscessed tooth, it can draw out the infection, just chew it up like a wad of tobacco and hold it between your cheek and gum. It won't heal what caused the abscess but will buy you a few days until you can get to a dentist. It can also draw out the infection from a shallow infected cut.
Its other greatest attribute is its ability to heal our skin. It causes a cut or abrasion to heal much faster than normal. It will even cause a very serious wound or cut to seal quickly. There is a danger here… it can close a wound so quickly that infection can be trapped deep inside. If I needed to treat a deep cut or wound there are several plants I would use. Plantain is on the list but only after I was sure there was no deep infection. Plantain it great for any sore in the mouth or ulcer or boil.
There are dozens of other uses for Plantain but I’m going to skip those… The herb books I’ve posted in the library go into these in great detail.
Highlights… I posted in another thread – Virginia plantain is the first plant I used to heal. I had a serious brown recluse spider bite. After three days, I could no longer see where the spider bit me. I would chew a plantain leaf to break the cell structure. I would hold the chewed leaf on the bite with a band aid. I put on a fresh leaf every time the old one dried out, about every 4 hours.
If I made a list of the 11 plants I use most often as medicine... plantain is on the list… I use plantain more often than the other 10 combined. This plant is my “go to”, any kind of insect bite, cut, scrape, sore, boil… It’s the best thing going for poison ivy! In the warm months of the year I use plantain almost daily. I understand why the early settlers took plantain with them everywhere they went.
And for comic relief… my favorite fun fact about plantain! If you look at a bottle of Metamucil at the bottom of the label you will see the words “Psyllium Fiber Capsules”
Health Benefits of Psyllium
Psyllium is a form of fiber made from the husks of the Plantago ovata plant’s seeds. It sometimes goes by the name ispaghula.
Plantago? If you have ever taken a Metamucil capsule you have swallowed Plantain. Is plantain safe? millions of people swallow a plantain capsule everyday.
Plantago ovata is grown commercially in India/Spain and Portugal to make Metamucil.
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