Why Nearly Everyone Should Know This plant

Plantago, also known as plantain (not to be confused with the banana-like fruit) is a hardy weed that grows almost everywhere. More than 200 species are distributed throughout the world associated with similar traditional uses. Plantain grows in gardens, fields, the edge of woods, and even cracks in the sidewalks.

I’ve always believed if every child learned how to work with five plants in school, the world would be a different place. If they only learned one plant, I think it would have to be plantain, though there are other plants that are equally beneficial.

For this reason, I decided to challenge myself to come up with 100 uses of plantain. I thought it would be hard, it wasn’t. I found more than I thought possible. To share this information and benefit the Trillium Center I created a poster and an online course. Here is a lengthy introduction to pique your interest and give you some basic information about the plant.

Materia medica

I encourage my students is to fill out Materia medica sheets in the Community Herbal Intensives. These sheets are an exercise in learning about a plant medicine. Materia medica means materials applied for healing purposes, a literal translation from Latin is “medical matter.” The basic categories they are expected to learn include the plant’s names, family, description, habitat, region(s) found, parts used, energetics, taste, herbal actions, constituents, tissues or organs affected, traditional uses, techniques, dose, safety category, and any warnings such as contraindications, toxins, and drug or supplement interactions. I offer the following as an introduction to the 100 Uses of Plantain, which includes a poster and an online course for those who want to learn more.

Energetics

Cool, moist, slightly drying

Energetics is a troublesome word. It doesn’t exactly describe what it means. The energy of a particular plant can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. For instance, plantain has a cooling physical quality, but looking at it might create a mental reaction, such as, “weed,” or someone may get a sense about it as a plant that is good or bad depending on whether they associate it with garden work or healing. A spiritual feeling might come from the quality of plantain to draw out what is not helpful.

So, what does energetics mean when you see it as an herbal quality? It means the physical qualities of the plant. In this case, plantain is cooling and moistening. But it also feels a bit drying because it “pulls” fluid when applied topically.

These are important physical qualities because they allow us to apply plantain to minor wounds, bug bites, and burns.

Plantain is a complex plant. So bear with me when I add that it might feel warming. It has the action of moving circulation to the surface (diffusive) and opening the pores to release sweat (diaphoretic). Plantain releases heat through the skin to promoting sweating, which might feel warming, but that release of heat cools the body.

Taste

Bland to Slightly Bitter, Earthy

The bland earthy flavor allows young leaves to be eaten in salads. Older leaves are slightly bitter and stringy, which can be cooked like any other green. I suggest slicing across the leaf veins before cooking. Bitterness in medicinal herbs is quite common and one of the most important healing qualities, but I’ll leave it at that because entire books have been written about the benefits of bitters.

Herbal Actions

• Alterative means gently alters and improves various body functions.
• Anesthetic means reduces pain.
• Anti-inflammatory is a wildly common action in herbs used for healing, because plants contain antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.
• Antioxidant means it contains chemicals that inhibit oxidation, which is a primary cause of aging and disease, including cancer. Some sources relate this to the traditional use of plantain as an anti-venom.
• Antiseptic means applied to inhibit or kill microbes, aka antimicrobial and possibly antiviral.
• Anthelmintic means kills and expels intestinal worms.
• Astringent means tones the tissues.
• Decongestant means removes congestion.
• Deobstruent means it removes blockages, aka aperient.
• Depurative means the plant has a cleansing quality.
• Diaphoretic means opens the pores to cause or increase sweating.
• Diffusive means stimulates circulation to the surface.
• Diuretic means it makes you pee.
• Drawing means that the plant draws fluids and objects out of the tissues.
• Emollient means softens and soothes tissues.
• Expectorant means clears the lungs by loosening phlegm.
• Febrifuge means reduces fever, aka antipyretic.
• Mucilaginous is a word for slimy that actually sounds worse than slimy, aka demulcent.
• Laxative means it clears the bowels.
• Refrigerant is a fancy word for cooling.
• Restorative means supporting an organ or tissue to return to a normal state.
• Styptic means stops bleeding.
• Vulnerary means supports the immune system in the healing process.

Yes, plantain has all of these qualities. Do you see why I think everyone should know this plant?

Tissues or Organs Affected

skin; mucous membranes in the respiratory, digestive and renal (kidney, bladder, reins) systems; fascia; immune support

Tissue States Used For

weakness/debility/laxity; inflammation (irritation, redness, swelling, pain); ulcerations; tissue damage

Constituents

Plant constituents are the chemicals in a plant that are known to have effects on the body. Although they can be useful to understand a plant, I learned from herbalist Paul Bergner that constituents are not nearly as predictive as herbal action. This means that the presence of a chemical in a plant does not always correspond to how the plant acts in the body. An herbal action is much more likely to create a specific outcome if the plant is appropriately matched to the person.

• Chlorophyll
• Iridoid glycosides including aucubin, catalpol
• Flavonoids including apigenin, luteolin, hispidulin, baicalein, scutallarein and plantaginin
• Polysaccharides – mucilage
• Phenolic acid derivatives
• Tannins
• Saponins
• Alkaloids: indicain and plantagonin
• Vitamins
• Minerals, including magnesium, zinc and silica, the latter more so in ribwort

Safety and Warnings

Plantain is “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Botanical Safety Handbook published by the American Herbal Products Association lists lance-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata) as safety class 1 and interaction class A, both the safest categories. The seed of Plantago psyllium used in fiber products is contraindicated in bowel obstruction and other narrowing of the tubes in the digestive tract. For this reason, psyllium seed is categorized as safety class 2 and interaction class A, although I would add that highly mucilaginous preparations may reduce the absorption of medications.

Want to Learn More?

This information is for educational and historical purposes and is not approved by the FDA.