Native Americans referred to Plantain as Englishman’s Foot or White man’s Foot because of how he sprouted up everywhere that white man appeared on the land. This was because the seeds were in their boots (from walking through it in Europe) and would scatter wherever they walked.
Among his many uses, plantain’s shape indicates he is useful for respiratory ailments and is great to add to a remedy for seasonal allergies, along with elderflower and eyebright. He contains mucilage, making plantain very soothing to the respiratory tract. The pharmaceutical Metamucil, which is a bulk laxative, is made from the Egyptian plantain’s seed, also known as psyllium.
Plantain has a place in history for his medicinal qualities. The Saxons (a confederation of Old Germanic Tribes) list him as one of nine sacred herbs in their most ancient source Lacmunga the Weybroed.
Go outside and find some Plantain to do this quick exercise. It doesn’t matter if it’s a broad leaf or narrow leaf variety, either will do. Now, put the leaf into your mouth and chew. What do you notice? Probably the first thing you notice is your mouth sort of puckers and dries as you chew. Does he make your mouth feel hot like a chili pepper or slice of Ginger would? No, the leaf makes your mouth feel cool, doesn’t it? Now, how does that leaf taste? Did you notice anything when you first put it in your mouth? A mineral taste? We call that taste salty. You might also notice his two other tastes, bitter and sweet at various stages as you chew. So, energetically, Plantain is salty, sweet, bitter, cooling and drying. These aspects are good to think about when you try to think about what Plantain is useful for.
As a nutritious wild edible, Plantain is high in calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorous, zinc, copper and cobalt and vitamins A, C, and K. His tender green leaves in spring can be added to salads.
Plantain contains constituents including allantoin, the flavonoid apigenin, the glycoside aucubin, mucilagin, oxalic and silicic acid, and tannins.
Medicinally, Plantain is alterative, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anthelmintic, antivenomous, astringent, decongestant, demulcent, deobstruent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hemostatic, kidney tonic, ophthalmic, mucilaginous, refrigerant, restorative and vulnerary. Isn’t is amazing how much a simple yard weed can do? Often, the ‘weeds’ in our yard make the best medicine!
Let’s look closer at what this lovely weed can do…
One of my favorite things to use Plantain for is for treating bee stings. His antivenomous and anti-inflammatory actions work together along with his cooling actions to ease the sting and draw the venom out of the body. Since bee stings usually happen in the yard, I find it easiest to make a spit poultice and apply it directly to the sting site. This works well for any type of insect sting. Once I can get back inside, I’ll also take some Plantain extract to help internally, changing the spit poultice every 20 – 30 minutes as it starts to feel warm. This also works for other bites such as tick bites and brown recluse bites. I have successfully treated a brown recluse bite using Plantain and activated charcoal poultices along with some Plantain and Echinacea taken internally. Combined with Ragweed, Plantain helps stop the histamine reactions that can come from insect stings as well as seasonal allergies.
My second favorite use for Plantain is to apply it to cuts. As a hemostatic, Plantain will stop the bleeding immediately, even when it’s profuse such as a nosebleed or a knife cut. Again, a spit poultice is my favorite application. Believe it or not, there are many healing compounds in our saliva that are antibacterial and promote healing which makes a simple poultice that is chewed not only the quickest and easiest option but a healing one as well. Plantain’s vulnerary actions will help to heal the cut as well and I will often follow up a cut with some salve made from Plantain. I often add Chickweed and Calendula or St. John’s Wort to the salve as well. Plantain would also be useful for helping with internal bleeding. A tea or extract of Plantain would be the best application for helping with stomach ulcers.
For hot, dry coughs, Plantain is mildy moistening (secondary to his drying action we talked about earlier when we tasted a leaf of Plantain) and a tea or extract of Plantain will make the cough more frequent but it will also be productive and help stimulate the expulsion of the mucus from the lungs. We use Plantain’s deobstruent and expectorant actions for this. Michigan herbalist jim mcdonald has used this action for people who work around fine particulate matter such as clay work, carpenters, road construction workers, and so on. He also recommends that for people with a dry tickle in their throats to chew a leaf of Plantain and wedge it between their lip and gum so that every time they swallow, the juices will wash down and soothe the irritation.
For sinuses, Plantain works wonders, as his vulnerary actions, combined with his mucilaginous, astringent and restorative actions will help to soothe, heal and restore balance to the sinuses. A neti pot filled with a salt water Plantain infusion will often bring instant relief to sinus sufferers. For those with drippy sinuses, combining Plantain with Mullein leaf or Sage will help to dry them. For those with lots of thick mucus, Elderflower or Mullein combined with Plantain will be beneficial.
When it comes to the digestive system, Plantain can enhance probiotic action in the gut, heal gut tissue and help to heal leaky gut and other digestive problems. I often combine him with many other herbs such as Calendula, Mint, Chamomile and Ginger based on a formula by herbalist Ryn Midura for healing the gut. If you know someone who suffers from leaky gut, IBS or other intestinal issue, this tea can be a great step towards intestinal health though it must be used in conjunction with dietary changes to completely heal.
As an ophthalmic, Plantain washes will soothe the irritated membranes of the eye during conjunctivitis and allergies, providing relief to itching, irritation and burning while encouraging healing.
Plantain doesn’t stop there! He also works wonders on the kidneys and bladder, as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiseptic and kidney tonic, he helps to reduce swelling, cool heat and heal bladder and kidney infections. Marshmallow or Slippery Elm are good combined with Plantain for bladder problems.
I have found that Plantain is most effective when used internally and externally together. For instance, when a bee stings me, I will chew a few leaves and apply them directly to the sting. I will also either brew a tea to drink using plantain’s leaves or take a tincture if I cannot make the tea.
Plantain is easy to grow and can be found all over the world. If you are harvesting from a yard, be sure that the area has not been sprayed with any herbicides or pesticides. If left unmown, Plantain has the ability to grow quite large, often my P. rugelii leaves get as big as my hand!
Want to learn more about Plantain? Grab the ebook here.
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