PLANTAIN Plantago lanceolat Names: Waybread, Waybroad, Waybreed, Rat’s tail, White man’s footprint, Cuckoo’s bread, Englishman’s foot, The leaf of Patrick, Patrick’s Dock, Ripple Grass, St. Patrick’s leaf, Slan-lus, Snakebite, Snakeweed, Black Plantain, Long Plantain, Ribble Grass, Ribwort, Quinquenervia, Costa canina, Jackstraw, Black Jack, Lamb’s tongue, Hen Plant, Wendles, Kemps, Costa. Element: Earth Planet: Venus Magical uses: Healing, Strength, Protection, Repels snakes. Key words: Cold, Moist, Subtle, Quiet, Strength, Tissue type: Atrophy and Stagnation Qualities: Cold and Moist Actions: Anti-histamine, Anti-bacterial, Anti-allergy, Blood tonic, Lymphatic, Anti- haemorrhagic, Diuretic, Expectorant, Demulcent, Astringent, Antacid, Uses: Chronic blood disorders, Toothache, Bleeding gums, Abscessed teeth, Infected root canal, Neuralgia, Diabetes, Bed-wetting, Oedema, Incontinence, IBS, Dysentry, Piles, Diarrhoea, Diverticulosis, Colitis, Stomachache, Constipation, Hepatitis, Ulcers, Blood in stool, Jaundice, Lesions not healed by comfrey, Bleeding malignant ulcers, Excessive menstruation, Hyperacidity, Sore-throat, Bronchitis, Tracheitis, Colds, Pneomonia, Dry cough, Cystitis, Blood in the urine, Thrush, Eczema, Acne, Syphillis, Snake bites, Animal bites, Insect bites, Gonorrhoeaea, Low back pain, Scurvy, Conjunctivitis, Blepharitis, Bloodshot eye, Poor vision, Light sensitivity, Cataract, Earache, Fibrosities, Cystic fibrosis, Vaginitis, Prickly rash, Bruises, Scalds, Burns, Sprains and strains, Bells palsy. Parts used Roots, Leaves and Seeds. (mostly the leaves though) Known constituents: Flavonoids, Tannins, Irirdoids, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Vitamin C, Allantoin, Mucilage, Sugars, Bitters.
Growing Habits
I can always rely on Plantain in any herb walk that I do. It might not be standing tall and proud up to my knee it may be hidden under my foot but I know I will always find it. Plantain is so resilient. You can step on it, chop it down with a lawn mower but it’ll still be there. When it is growing close to the ground like this I don’t usually use it as medicine because it’s too tricky to pick. The Plantago major variety of the plant is used in the same way as the lanceolate but it always grows very close to the ground and with much wider leaves than the lanceolate variety. Grieve’s describes the two plants like this:
“This is a very dark green, slender perennial, growing much taller than P. major. Its leaf-blades rarely reach an inch in breadth, are three to five ribbed, gradually narrowed into the petioles, which are often more than a foot long. The flower stalks are often more than 2 feet long, terminating in cylindrical blunt, dense spikes, 1/2 to 3 or 4 inches long and 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. It has the same chemical constituents as P. major.”
The flower stalks are a lot of fun with children (and your inner child) as they can be twisted around themselves in a way that makes it possible to shoot the head off.
Legend and Tradition
The commonality of this plant lends itself to many of its names. White man’s foot or Englishman’s footprint comes from this. It is a name the native americans gave it when they saw it appearing whoever the new invaders went. It’s easy to find across Europe and most of the Northern hemisphere.
The Anglo-saxons gave it the name ‘Kemps’ which means “champion”. The name Cempa also comes from this. They believe it got this name because children would hit the stalks together till they broke, as though they were duelling. It’s a fairly common surname in some parts of the world. I think it’s funny that children always find a way to mock-fight with the things around them. The names Ripple grass, Ribwort, Long Plantain and Ribble grass are all about the appearance of the plant. These are all talking about the lanceolate variety and the ripples in the leaves.
In the past people would bind Plantain to the head with red wool to cure a headache or beneath the feet to relieve weariness. Scott Cunningham (a modern day author) recommends hanging it in the car to prevent evil spirits from entering it.
In the fields of farmers they have noticed that lambs and hens particularly like eating Plantain. This gives rise to the names Hen plant and Lamb’s tongue. Although I do wonder if the name is making a comparison of the appearance of a lambs tongue and the Plantar major variety.
It has a strong association with snakes and preventing snake bites. It’s not really something we are concerned about in the UK as poisonous snakes are rare here. I do wonder where the concern about snake bites comes from. It seems logical that it was from more tropical climates where snake bites are more dangerous than they are in the UK. Perhaps in Persia for instance. But, following a discussion with my friend Cristina Cromer (featured on the podcast) she has pointed out that the snake was a strong image that people would have understood long before we had formalised education. The snake has a long history of associations with the sacred, feminine, wisdom and healing. Cristina told me that “Apollo, the God of Reason overthrew the ancient snake goddess at Delphi when the patriarchy rose up and overwhelmed the matriarchy”. She went on to reference that the imagery of christian saints stamping on and killing snakes and dragons as proof of this. Perhaps this association with the snake, therefore, is not literal but more of a metaphor to help us remember what the Plantain can be used for. It draws out things from the blood and helps to heal wounds. The sort of wound you might get from a snake bite,, for instance.
Waybroad, Waybreed and Waybread are all names which mean by the wayside. This was a term for the wild land next to roads. Of course, we’re not talking about roads like the M25 here! It would have been perfectly safe to forage on the sides of the roads in the past.
Medicinal Uses
The best known use for Plantain has got to be its application in skin healing. It is often found in creams and balms to be applied to bites, stings, prickly heat rash. bruises, scalds, strains, you name it. It’s a great first-aid remedy to know about. It draws out puss from wounds and can even be used to help draw foreign objects from the body. I wish I’d tried this myself in the past.
I was once run over and had surgery on my leg to mend the broken bone. Following that surgery the wound was stitched up using dissolvable stitches. Dissolvable stitches are a great idea in principal but what I’ve found (twice) is that where the stitch finishes there is a knot and this knot just does, not, dissolve! This happened to me twice and both times the wound remained open while the rest of the wound healed. Eventually the body, my wise body, pushed the knot out itself. Quite incredible. But this process took ages and the first time it happened I got an infection in the mean time. It’s not a good idea to go walking around with an open wound.
When it comes to bleeding wounds the root or seed is better for stopping it than the leaves. This really changes my previous belief that if I needed to stop something from bleeding and I had nothing else to hand then I would use a plantain leaf. Now I would consider the seed instead.
Another place in the body where Plantain has this outwards clearing movement is in the lungs. It draws up mucous from them. This makes it useful in phlegmatic coughs. I can’t remember ever having seen a herbalist put this into a cough blend but herbs do go in and out of favour. It was used to treat things as serious as Tuberculosis in the past But as tuberculosis is very infectious and can cause a lot of harm, it’s now a notifiable disease and shouldn’t be treated with herbs or by a herbalist. But it’s good to look at what it can be used for in the present by viewing how it was used in the past. Now a days we would use it to help soothe a sore throat, lessen the inflammation of bronchitis, tracheitis and aid in the healing time for colds and coughs.
Let’s have a look at some other diseases you can’t use Plantain for now but which it was used for in the past. For instance, syphilis and gonorrhoea. These are both sexually transmitted diseases which can cause serious problems when left untreated. It’s not something worth risking treatment with herbs just on the off-chance they don’t work. But it does tell us that Plantain has deep healing properties that are anti-bacterial and lymphatic. This makes it useful to treat vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina) and excessive menstruation. In the present day we mostly use those properties for acute illnesses like coughs, colds, and flus instead. Especially when they’re affecting the lungs.
Plantain has an anti-histaminic action which makes it very useful for reducing the itch and inflammation caused by an allergy. I’ve used it for hay fever and eczema alike. It has an affinity for the eyes especially, helping with conjunctivitis, blepharitis, bloodshot eye, poor vision, light sensitivity and cataracts. Cataracts are another thing which shouldn’t be treated with herbs though. It is nice to add Plantain macerated oil into creams to help give them an anti-itch property. This is why it’s used in bite balms as mentioned earlier.
I was surprised to find it referenced as good for neuralgia. It doesn’t have any pain killing chemicals in it. What it does have though is the ability to relieve an infection and inflammation faster than you would without it. It has a real affinity for the mouth and can help with toothache, bleeding gums, abscessed teeth and infected root canal.
It’s also said to be good for low back pain. Again, I thought this was a bit of a stretch but it has been used to help with diabetes, bed-wetting, oedema and incontinence so it must strengthen the kidneys. Matthew Wood calls it a strengthening diuretic. I wonder if the back pain it helps with is specifically the type which is caused by a kidney infection. Kidney infections can be quite serious and lead to the loss of a kidney. If you ever have low back pain which seems to come on suddenly with no known cause or following a bladder infection it’s important to go and get it checked out at the doctor. But this has made me think Plantain would be useful for people who have long-term kidney problems as in diabetes and perhaps high blood pressure too.
Of course it’s crucial with diabetes and high blood pressure to be sure that the patient is eating a healthy and well-balanced diet. Plantain may help achieve this as it aids with many symptoms affecting the digestive system. If proper nutrition is to be achieved you must have a digestive system that works well. IBS can cause constipation and diarrhoea alike and both interfere with the absorption of food. Diverticulosis and colitis are helped by Plantain as it has an astringent yet softening property that might help to tone the bowel. Because it helps relieve these symptoms it will also aid in the relief of stomach ache, hyperacidity and blood in the stools. Blood in the stools is considered to be a red flag and should always be treated by a health professional.
It wasn’t till I was doing the research for this monograph that I realised Plantain is related to Psyllium seeds and husks (Plantago psyllium). They are both a Plantago. Psyllium seeds and husks are used to bind to water and create a gentle laxative. These tiny seeds are remarkably similar in appearance to the Plantain seed. This has highlighted some of its properties to me which I hadn’t realised before. That it may contain mucilage upon the seed heads as well. The mucilage on the seeds of the plantain is destroyed in contact with hot water and the mucilage was once used to stiffen muslin.
In the past, clarified juice or distilled water of Plantain was used to cure earache by dropping a little inside the ear. We wouldn’t do this anymore as putting things in the ear itself can cause more trouble than it’s worth. It would be safer to massage mullein oil around the outside of the ear instead. Another common home remedy is to put a few drops of olive oil on a piece of cotton wool and putting that at the entrance to the ear. I wonder if you could put drops of plantain leaf juice onto cotton wool and placed at the entrance of the year for the same thing.
It’s anti-inflammatory for joints which are “out of place”. I wonder if this means joints which have been dislocated. Deciphering old herbals like Culpepper isn’t always simple. Culpepper also said that it’s useful for “hot wombs”.
Emotional Uses I really struggle to get a grip on the emotional uses of Plantain. It wasn’t mentioned in my usual references. When this happens I look up how the flower essence is used to get a glimpse into the emotional properties of the plant. There I found that Plantain is useful for healing the harm done by “biting” words. It helps to clear resentment and find harmony with others. It is also said to help us bring together the male and female within us and make peace with ourselves.
Preparations Juice Mixing the juice with rose oil was a traditional remedy for headaches and lunatic and frantic people. I like the word lunatic. It makes me think of people who live by the moon. Luna-people. Of course, this isn’t what they meant. They meant people which were crazy. But it’s interesting that it’s the juice which seems to be the preferential preparation of Plantain. There is a company which has been in action since the early 1900’s which still makes juice of Plantain. They’re called Salus, so if you want something simple and reliable this could be an easy way to get some. Alternatively I’ve put a method for preparing a juice below. It doesn’t require a juicer, after all, they didn’t have those in 1900!
Simply smash up fresh plantain leaves with the end of a rolling pin or in a pestle and mortar. Cover with cold water and let stand overnight. Strain in the morning and keep it in the fridge. Safety Considerations Shouldn’t be used by people who have nocturnal seminal emission caused by kidney deficiency. This is a traditional Chinese medicine terminology and I would recommend consulting a herbalist if this seems to be a problem for you.