Plantain - ID, Edible and Medicinal Uses, and More! Broadleaf and Narrowleaf Plantain

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Common Plantain or Broadleaf Plantain - Plantago major
Also sometimes called broad-leaved plantain

Narrowleaf Plantain or Ribwort Plantain - Plantago lanceolata
Also sometimes narrow-leaved plantain

Plantain is a plant that can easily be overlooked. It's not a very flashy looking plant, but it has a lot if edible and medicinal uses. Plantain is often found in disturbed soils and can be found throughout most of the world. Plantain doesn't have any bright or flashy flowers and grows low to the ground, so this might be part of why it's often overlooked.

Plantain, both common plantain and narrowleaf plantain, have qualities that include being cooling, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, astringent, anti-microbial, alterative, expectorant, and vulnerary. Broadleaf or common plantain and narrowleaf plantain can be used interchangeably.

Plantain Identification

Plantain is a perennial herb with a fibrous root system. The leaves grow low to the ground in a basal rosette with leaves that are elliptic to egg-shaped with prominent parallel veins. The edges of the leaves can be smooth or undulating/wavy and are 3 to 30 cm long. The flower spikes of plantain can be up to 60 cm long with small inconspicuous flowers. The seed capsules are brown when mature.

Edible Uses for Plantain

Plantain leaves are edible raw or cooked and are a good source of vitamins A, C, K, and potassium. The seeds can be dried and ground into a meal and used as a flour substitute.

Medicinal Uses for Plantain

The overall effect of plantain can be described as cooling and useful to counteract hot conditions like redness, swelling, and inflammation. Topically the leaves can be used to treat insect bites, stings, cuts, scrapes, burns, blisters, poison ivy, snake bites, stinging nettle and more. You can use the leaves as a spit poultice for emergency first aid.

The leaves of plantain contain allantoin which promotes healing skin and tannin which helps to draw tissues together.

Plantain leaf tea has been used to treat all kinds of respiratory ailments such as coughs, sore throats, bronchitis, and laryngitis. Plantain has also been used for gastrointestinal issues. Teas or tinctures have been used to relieve issues such as diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, and for healing bleeding mucous membranes.

Plantain seeds, which are mucilaginous, have been used to help relieve constipation. If they are used, they should be used with a lot of water because they expand and absorb a lot of water.

*Caution - Although plantain is generally considered a safe plant to use, they draw heavy metals from the soil. Please be cautious about where you are harvesting plantain!

Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!

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References

De La Foret; Han, Emily. Wild Remedies: How to Froage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine. Hay House, Inc. 2020.

Gray, Beverley. The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North. Aroma Borealis Press. 2011.

Kloos, Scott. Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants. Timber Press, Inc. 2017

MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.

Walker, Sandra. The Path to Wild Food: Edible Plants & Recipes for Canada. Lone Pine Publishing. 2022.

Wiles, Briana. Mountain States Medicinal Plants. Timber Press Inc. 2018.

Young, Devon. The Backyard Herbal Apothecary: Effective Medicinal Remedies Using Commonly Found Herbs & Plants. Page Street Publishing. 2019.