Plantago a go-go
This discussion will be about plantain, and I don’t mean bananas. If you have been in grassy areas lately, you might have noticed two members of the Plantago species, P. major and P. lanceolata, sprouting all around. Known as Broad-leaf plantain and Narrow-leaf plantain, these might be the most healthful and vulnerative plants I never paid much attention to.
Humans have used members of the Plantago family medicinally since prehistoric times. Even though its seeds are spread by summer winds, we have carried it with us wherever we migrated and settled. Curiously enough, indigenous people of both North America and New Zealand named plantain “Englishman’s foot.”
We’ve all heard it walking through a grassy park, “Hey, look, Sugar Booger. There’s a ground-hugging glabrous perennial with one rosette and the thick, oval leaves are definitely ribbed and tapering to a petiole,” to which Booger replies, without looking up from her cell phone, “Plantago major. First cousin of Metamucil? Let’s talk about it later.”
Researchers claim P. major, or great plantain, has been a common medicinal aid for humans for the past four millennia. The traditional Persian word for it was “Bahrang,” and it was used to reduce swelling and even as a styptic.
Remember Dioscorides? We used to say, “Nobody dances like Dioscorides because nobody wants to.” But when it was not Saturday night at the Grange Hall, Dioscorides was an astute botanist whose Materia Medica from the first century A.D. is the oldest extant account of plantain used medicinally. Just a bit to the east, in early Islamic history, plantain was included in their academic medical discourse.
Everybody used plantain medicinally. It was one of the famous nine listed in the 10th century Anglo-Saxon poem referred to as Nine Herbs Charm. From the Mideast over to China, the roasted seeds have been used to stop bleeding, the leaf juice for sore eyes, a leaf extract taken orally with honey soothed lung problems, and powdered plantain leaf paste was applied to wounds, scrapes and burns. The Dakota Nation applied a plantain paste to snakebites. In central Europe, the leaves are commonly applied to blisters.
But this is not just folklore. Research has confirmed that plantain in some form or other can be used to treat coughs, skin problems, infections, inflammation and digestive issues.
Everybody also eats it. Indigenous Americans along the Central California coast ate the leaves and cooked the seeds like rice. In the Mideast, leaves are added to lentils while cooking. As a leafy vegetable, plantain leaves have a bounty of vitamins, fiber, protein plus calcium and zinc.
The young leaves are okay eaten raw, but after a point they are better steamed or added to a stir fry. An adventurous gastronomist might cover some plants to blanch the leaves for a milder taste. You can even eat the flower head left after the flowers are gone.
The seeds of P. ovata are the source of psyllium. The seeds are ground to release the husks which are then made into powders used to promote digestive health. It has been speculated that the natural compounds in plantain might moderate the methane production in ruminants, but farmers would need more plantain to solve that problem. I personally could offer several bushels to the effort.
As with all medicinal herbs, caution is the rule. Some folks might be allergic, others might feel bloated or nauseated.
When asked about plantain, local experienced herbalist Michael Waters stated, “I use plantain topically to draw out poisons and speed recovery for scrapes, cuts and rashes. Internally, it is nutritious and it will help heal ulcers and inflammation in the stomach and gut. It also tastes really nice! All parts of the plant can be eaten, from the flower heads to the roots.”