I recently read an article on Passionate Homemaking called 3 Herbal Healers. The plants discussed were aloe, garlic and plantain. I had never heard of plantain, but was excited to learn that it is the second most common weed in most yards. Upon looking at my yard I realized that we had it everywhere (See picture below which was taken right out my back door.)
Well, I went to several more sites to verify the information about plantain. It appeared that plantain could really be beneficial for ailments ranging from bites to rashes, and even to help stop bleeding. Also, everything I read indicated that the best way to get the healing power is the chew on a plantain leaf for a short time before applying it to the hurt area of skin.
The information about plantain was filed away in my mind thankfully because a few weeks ago I got bit by something. I was in the house, so I am assuming it had to be a spider. The bite was on the inside of my arm near my elbow, and it started to swell. My arm felt tingly all the way down to my fingertips.
So, I ran outside and grabbed a plantain leaf. I rinsed it off with some water and chewed it for a few seconds. Then I applied it to the bite and wrapped some athletic tape around my arm to hold the plantain in place. Within a half an hour the swelling was gone and my arm no longer tingled. I was sold on the benefits of this “weed”.
I recommend familiarizing yourself with what the plant looks like so you can be able to find it no matter where you are. The leaf has 5 parallel veins and can have a rounded or pointy tip. If you don’t have time to rinse the leaf first you will probably be ok. You could also crush it with something like a mortar and pestle instead of chewing it. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to use it if you knew that the yard you found it in had been sprayed with any chemicals.
I also read that you can dry the leaves and use them the same way as if they were fresh. This is something I will definitely be putting on my to-do list, so we can utilize this plant all year long.
