Plantago spp is a good herb and edible to start foraging.
It grows all over the world. It has no deadly look-alikes and most people can easily identify it. It is abundant so you can take all you need. It will grow back! It is so useful, I call it a medicine cabinet in one backyard plant.
I have over 10 pages of handwritten notes of things I have learned on Plantago aka Plantain over the years. I can't share everything here. Hopefully, I have shared enough to make you more aware of how very useful this plant is. This is the plant many of you made "guns" out of with the stem wrapped around the seed head.
Depending on what you are targeting, the leaves can be used fresh or dried. It can be used as a food source, tea, capsule, decoction, salve, ointment, tincture, and poultice. I have both the narrow (aka lance) leaf and broad leaf on my place. All I found recently was the lanceolata (narrow) leaf (pictured).
Plantago is superior to Jewelweed when treating poison ivy, oak, or sumac IF you know the correct method to use. Here it is:
Boil the leaves. Strain and cool them until it is hot but not enough to burn/damage the skin. Leave until it cools. Then change it out with another batch of boiled leaves. Do this 3 times. On the third time, bandage the poultice to the body. The heat causes the histamines to be released all at one time. Then you have the anti-inflammatory effects and the chemical compound allantoin which is a cell proliferator (speeds cell turnover rate which speeds healing). It works better when caught sooner.
For a spider bite, boil a potato until it is very soft. While still warm apply to the skin until it cools. Then follow the instructions above. The potato contains among other things starches and hyaluronic and azelaic acids which help soften the skin. The heat pulls blood to the surface which also moves the venom to the surface. All of this makes it easier for the plantain poultice to draw the venom out. This method has spared people from necrotizing flesh as seen in brown recluse spider bites.
The allantoin in plantago is good for healing bruises, fractures, pulled muscles and ligaments, sprains, strains, and osteoarthritis. Neosporin uses allantoin in some of its products like their wound gel. You can harvest allantoin from your backyard and use it for free.
Plantago spp will also heal the intestines from inflammatory conditions. It normalizes stomach secretions. It is good for the immune system. It is good for UTIs and other bladder/kidney conditions. It helps drain mucus from the head and can be used for asthma and bronchitis. The seeds are what is in Metamucil (psyllium husks come from Plantago ovata) because they have a laxative effect. It helps with thrombophlebitis. It reduces intestinal absorption of lipids, lowers cholesterol, food poisoning, snake bites, spider bites, bug bites, and is a very effective drawing agent (pulling splinters, pus, or venom).
It was so valuable as medicine that many English settlers brought different varieties over with them. The Native Americans called it "White Man's Footprints" because it popped up wherever they went. There was one variety already here, but we have many varieties in the US today. For the medicinal properties, it is a fairly consistent plant across the different varieties.
To use as an edible, people eat the young tender leaves in salads much like you would lettuce. People wrap sushi in them and throw them on top of their burgers. Older leaves get cooked. Dried and powdered, the leaves are used as thickeners in soups. The seeds are ground for flour. Plantago is high in vitamins A, B, C, K, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and selenium.
Medicinal properties: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-cancer, vulnery (heals wounds), decongestant, demulcent (soothes mucus membranes), drawing agent, laxative, and it is considered analgesic due to the anti-inflammatory benefits. The NIH says the pain-relieving properties are probably due to the tannins and one paper says plantago the plant is good for: infectious diseases, digestive issues, respiratory organs reproduction, circulation, certain cancers, and reducing fevers.
Many of you have been asking me through text and IM how to get started. Here it is. It is up to you to make something of it. And, I apologize for not answering phone calls but I do try to reach out through text asap. My phone is usually in the house while I am outside.
