Plantain is probably one of the most useful plants you can find growing wild. Chances are you have them growing out in your yard and don't even know it. Most people think this little "weed" is an annoying pest whose sole purpose is to rob the landscape. Truth be told, once you know what benefits this little plant can provide you with, you will be happy to let it have all the room it wants!
Here is a good article from AltNature about plantain cultivation and some of the things plantain can be used for. Plantain
You can eat the leaves of the plantain plant in salads.
Plantain is effective in helping to treat upper respiratory infections such as bronchitis, and asthma.
The leaves can be used in a tea to help indigestion and heartburn, or to be dabbed onto insect bites.
You can use plantain in a salve to promote healing on cuts, scrapes and burns.
Since it also an anti-inflammatory, a salve will help with swollen areas.
Plantain as a tea or salve will also help with poison ivy, oak or sumac.
Plantain is a coagulant and can be used on wounds to help stop bleeding.
Here is a recipe I found for a salve. It seems that all homemade salves start with beeswax, so maybe beeswax should be something to keep on hand. You can beeswax in many places, but I get it off of Amazon. I buy everything off of amazon! Buy Organic Beeswax bars or Organic beeswax pastilles Many folks use the pastilles because they are easier to melt.
- 2 cups of olive or almond oil
- 2 tablespoons of dried plantain leaf (herb-not banana!)
- ¼ cup beeswax pastilles
- Infuse the herbs into the olive oil. There are two ways to do this. You can either combine the herbs and the olive oil in a jar with an airtight lid and leave 3-4 weeks, shaking daily OR heat the herbs and olive oil over low/low heat in a double boiler for 3 hours (low heat!) until the oil is very green.
- Strain her herbs out of the oil by pouring through a cheesecloth. Let all the oil drip out and then squeeze the herbs to get the remaining oil out.
- Discard the herbs.
- Heat the infused oil in a double boiler with the beeswax until melted and mixed.
- Pour into small tins, glass jars or lip chap tubes and use on bites, stings, cuts, poison ivy, diaper rash or other wounds as needed.
For a tincture-
You need-
80 to 100 proof Vodka (a 5th)
A mason Jar
Fresh plantain leaves
Stuff the mason jar to about half an inch from the top
pour vodka to the very top
Make sure all plant material is covered!
Put the lid on, shake a little and then set into a dark cubbord. Once a week for a month check to make sure all plant material is still under the vodka and give it a shake.
The plant material should be covered at all times so that mold does not start to grow on the exposed material.
After a month your tincture is ready to use.
You can strain the tincture through Cheesecloth and transfer to amber colored bottles.
Amber bottles are important because it keeps your tincture longer, due to the lack of light able to get through the amber colored glass.
-Stregha