I just spoke with a friend of mine who lives in Texas and is the mother of a young boy. She told me that she had just taken her son to the doctor for several very infected spider bites and was prescribed strong antibiotics. I gave her some unsolicited advice that I believe every parent should know. It is a particular remedy for those scary spider bites, itchy mosquito bites, terrible bee stings, infected wounds, painful splinters, and the key to prevent doctor visits for antibiotics for any of the aforementioned. It is simply a weed. A weed that grows underfoot. A weed that invades your lawn. A weed that has been used for thousands of years all over the world. And a weed that was called “mother of herbs” by the Anglo-Saxons.
My advice to my friend was to use Plantain. She then asked “Well how do I use it and how can I get it?” Wonderful question! This is how:
First and foremost before we use any plant for any reason is to safely and correctly identify it. Plantain is not the tropical fruit but rather a perennial weed that is found throughout the world with more than 200 species in the Plantago genus. One species you may know well is Psyllium Seed Husks for troubles with digestion. Same genus!
The species I am most interested in are Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata simply because those are the two species that grow in my lawn. Plantago major or Common Plantain have oval shaped leaves while Plantago lanceolata has spear shaped leaves. Both species grow in a basal rosette and have veins that run parallel or like train tracks from leaf stem to leaf edge. As mentioned before Plantain loves to take over lawns, and you will most likely find them in disturbed fields, along road sides, along the sidewalk as you walk to work, and where soil has been disturbed or packed. Here is a picture of a huge Common Plantain found at Armitage Park last month.
Now, once correctly identified, how do you use it? Plantain is well known for it’s drawing capabilities. Once I had a splinter deep in my finger and I worked on that sucker for a good 10 minutes to no avail. I came across some Plantain and picked a nice, clean, healthy leaf, stuck it in my mouth and chewed it to a pulp. I spit it out onto my finger and held it there for 3 minutes. After I removed the pulp I squeezed my finger and out popped the splinter!
It’s no magic trick (though sometimes it is nice to give a little mystery to kids) it’s chemistry. Plantain is very astringent and this quality makes for good pulling (things out including infection), stopping (such as bleeding), and closing (tissue together from a wound).
No matter what kind of camp or program I am teaching Plantain always finds a way to teach a lesson to kids. This summer we are teaching an array of summer camps for kids and one topic that always comes up are bee stings. Plantain can pull out the venom from a bee sting, reduce the swelling, kill any bad bacteria that may have been present, and can reduce the risk of major allergic reaction. Yes please!
The best way to apply Plantain is the method I described above for my splinter. Chewing it like gum can get the medicine working internally as well as externally. Now if you are a bit squeamish about chewing up a plant you can always squish it between your fingers really well or between rocks. This method is called a poultice. Depending upon the severity of the wound you may need only one application or ten.
A story I will leave you with is one I enjoy telling when I am introducing Plantain. One day I was working with a bunch of adults making bow drill kits for friction fire. Before I sat down in the gravel I decided to walk by a patch of grass and took notice of a couple Plantain plants. Then I started my grueling task of making a bowdrill kit from scratch. After a couple of hours in the sun I was getting hot, tired, and cranky. My knife slipped and I saw a rather deep cut slice just above my knuckle on my left pointer finger. Without hesitation I got up walked to the patch of grass, found a Plantain leaf, chewed her up and slapped her on. I applied pressure and held up my hand for three to four minutes. When I felt that the blood had clotted I removed the pulp and found the cleanest cut I had ever seen. The Plantain had completely stopped the bleeding and cleaned up the blood and I could already tell that the tissue was trying to stitch itself back together. It barely scarred, just enough to be able to show it off.
When in need Plantain will magically appear. Please be sensible about harvesting plants for first aid. Know your plants well before applications and be aware of your limitations. Once you build a relationship with Plantain she will be one of your most important allies!
Recommended Resources:
Tom Brown’s Field Guide Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants Tom Brown Jr.
Botany in a Day Thomas J. Elpel
Just Weeds Pamela Jones
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast Pojar and Mackinnon
http://www.HerbMentor.com
http://www.celticherbs.com
http://www.pfaf.org
http://www.botanicalstudies.net/
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I was wondering if Plaintain is as useful when dried, and if so, what is the best way to go about drying it?
You could dry plantain by putting the leaves loosely in a paper bag and leaving them in a warm, dry place for about a week. It could be then used internally as tea or moistened and used topically. I would say that dried plantain is most likely inferior to the fresh plant and drying it isn’t really necessary because it is common and grows year round in our mild climate. If you do have the need to preserve the plant for future use Michael Moore recommends juicing the plant and then preserving the juice with 30% alcohol or 35% glycerin.
I love plantain and use poultices for spider and bug bites frequently. One thing I learned the hard way, though… It is very important NOT to chew the plantain leaves when making a poultice for a poisonous spider bite. The first time I did this, the bite got much worse and began to necrotizem the tissues surrounding the bite became blackened and sunken. (Plaintain will turn the wound a little blackish on the surface as it draws out toxins, but necrosis occurs deep under the skin). I learned from a naturopath friend that saliva triggers a “self-digestion” process in poisonous spider bites. I was able to heal the bite eventually with electro-acupuncture. After that experience, I have used poultices made with a mortar and pestle or simple by rolling the leaves between both hands until they are juicy. It always works… and almost miraculously (a two or three day healing time!)
Thanks for the tip – that is something I have never heard of before. I would like to learn more about that so that I can understand it better. Thanks Shelley!
I tried some on a sore finger, where I had a blackberry thorn unknowingly lodged in my skin . It worked great where a cortizone cream failed! Can you freeze the leaves for winter use? Thanks. Amy C
Hi Amy,
Awesome! I love hearing success stories. And Blackberry thorns can be really nasty. That is a great question about freezing Plantain for the winter. I have never tried it myself because I usually can find it year round, however it may be a good idea to make a fresh plant infusion (tea) and freeze it in ice cubes. The other thing I do in case I need a lot during the winter is to dry the leaves as well. That way you can take it internally as tea or adding liquid to the dried leaves to make a poultice.
Good tip Anna.
The body is pretty smart and does amazing things to heal itself, especially with a little help from some common herbs.
Any necrotising effect would be coming from the spider venom however, not from our saliva. Brown Recluse or Hobo spider both have necrotising venom.
We don’t always have a serile mortar and pestal on hand, and dying of a poisnous spider bite versus having a little necrotised flesh would be the choice for some. So, do chew up some plantain and apply it when you have been biten!
Animals lick themselves all the time when they are hurt. When we lick our wounds it stops the blood. Amazing!
Please don’t be afraid of your own spit, it comes from you and it is lovely. There are lots of bacteria in the mouth to digest what we eat and a human bite can be deadly. Our body knows the difference between a defensive bite, and licking or spitting into our own wounds.
Traditional mothers worldwide cure conjuctivitis by licking their childs eyes.
Spit is the first medicine.
I have a African spur-thighed sulcata tortoise. He needs a herbivor diet. They said Bermuda grass is similar to the wild diet, onl y slightly lower in calium.When you “add in” the heavily grazed plantain (plantago) plant things really balance out! I live in Houston ,TX. Are these weeds the type that grow in my yard. With so many varies,how do I know which ones the tortoise needs. Thanks for your information.
Terri, there are two common varieties of Plantago. In our area I find that Plantago lanceolata is more common. In your area it is possible that you will find more Plantago major. These links will take you to some decent botanical drawings of the two species, they are used interchangeably. If you need more help with identification consult a decent field guide. I usually recommend that people use two references before ingesting an unfamiliar plant. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad information out there both on the web and in print and it is a good idea to use caution.