Plantain, harvesting, drying and using

I am a very frustrated gardener right now. Our last frost date was only last week so you know my plants aren't quite producing yet. I have nothing to harvest or even really tend to, except weeds. Why is it that a late frost can kill a vegetable plant, but not weeds? Weird, right? Anyway, the one thing I do have a lot of is naturally growing medicinal plants like dandelions, plantain and lambs quarters. 

Plantain to harvest, preserve and use for health

So I'm picking and drying plantain herb today. The herb Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) has many amazing uses especially for cuts and bug bites. It really takes the 'owe' out of cat scratches too! In fact, it's the main ingredients in my 2 Ingredient bug bite remedy.

What is Broadleaf Plantain?


Plantain is a perennial 'weed' you probably have growing in your yard or garden. Not to be confused with the banana type fruit you see in some stores. Broadleaf plantain has a rosette of large oval shaped leaves with veins that run from bottom to top. The plant sets out several dense spikes from the center of seeds/flowers.

There are about 250 different species of plantain but we're looking at 'Plantago major'. That's it's official name although it's nickname is "Englishman's foot" by Native Americans because it seemed to appear everywhere in European settlers colonies.

As much of an annoyance as it is, it has many great uses also. It's said that plantain was once called 'snakeweed'  because it helps with snakebites, but don't go trying that just 'cause I said so! (see a Dr of course!) It is believed to be brought to the Americas by Puritan settlers for medicinal uses.

Plantain Herb Uses 


Plantain leaves can be crushed up and applied to cuts and scrapes to help stop bleeding and pain. They also help with insect stings or bites. They are edible and the younger leaves are great in salads while the older leaves are tougher and are better cooked into soups and stews. 

Plantain seeds can be ground into a flour substitute. The roots can also be used for pain. Today though I'm focusing on the leaves and their uses as a tea.

A strong tea can be made of dried plantain leaves and cooled then applied to sunburn or brush burns to speed healing. It can be added to a bath to cool a sunburn. It's also good for rashes and poison ivy.  Some people have found it helps with eczema also as it is very soothing to the skin. 

I prefer to drink plantain tea as it has many internal uses. It can soothe a sore throat and cough. It helps with digestion, ulcers, heartburn, IBS, mouth sores, and is great to drink when you have diarrhea since it will replenish vitamins and minerals lost through sickness. It is also drank as a tea to help with kidney and bladder problems. 

plantain, herbal medicine

How to Harvest Plantain 


When gathering plantain herb to dry, make sure the plantain you gather has not been sprayed with weed killers, insecticides or any other chemicals. I only gathered leaves this time and since I was drying the plantain leaves, I didn't worry about size. Don't worry about breaking off the stems, they can be left on. 

It's better to gather plantain leaves after it begins to flower, but I wasn't into waiting so I went ahead and picked this early stuff. I'll just pick more in a few weeks, it's literally growing everywhere! 

I washed the leaves by putting them in a bowl of warm water and adding about a tablespoon of baking soda then swishing them around by hand. I let them sit a few minutes while I got the oven set to convect at 170 then rinsed them off. 

I shook them to get the water off then placed them all in a lint free towel. Then I wrapped up the corners and sort of swung it around to get the rest of the water out. 

How to Dry Plantain Leaves


Then I placed them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper trying to keep them from touching, and put them in the oven. I used the method I wrote about here in How To Oven Dry Fresh Herbs. You can also use a dehydrator on a medium setting. It should only take a few hours with this method.

Once the plantain leaves are dry I put them in a jar. I crushed some of the dried plantain leaves, but I left most of them whole. I really prefer to crush them right before I use them, but there's not always room in the jar. Whole plantain leaves can be pretty big.

I'll leave the lid off for the next few days. In case there's any moisture left in them it will have time to evaporate off. 

Any time I want to make a tea I just crush up about a tablespoons worth and steep as normally for tea. Strain then drink. It's definitely a natural tea taste, but I just add a little local honey and it is so good! I hope you like it too.

There are lots of plants to forage locally...even in your own backyard. Here are 8 easy to identify wild herbs that I like to forage for. You should try it!

~L

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I am not a doctor or other health care professional nor do I claim to be. I am not trained in any medical field. I am simply passing on information that has worked for me. This information is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical condition. see a Dr if you are ill. Click for my full disclaimer. 

Broadleaf plantain, herbal medicine

20 comments:

  1. I keep hearing the plantains have health benefits, but I haven't tried them myself (we feed them to the chickens and bunny!). I am thinking that I might try to add dry plantains to my homemade cocoa butter salve now, so thanks for the post!

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  2. Great post! Its too dry where I live to grow as a weed, but if I see it around I always pick a few leaves!

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  3. I was just seeking this info for a while. After six hours of
    continuous Googleing, finally I got it in your web site.
    I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that don't
    rank this kind of informative websites in top of the list.

    Generally the top web sites are full of garbage.

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    1. Oh wow, how frustrating! I don't understand their strategy at all but I'm glad you found this post!

      Lisa

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  4. Kimmie in South MS, USASeptember 6, 2018 at 2:29 PM

    Love your article. I'm new to medicinal herbs/teas.

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    1. Thanks, I'm glad that you like it! Feel free to message or comment with any questions you have....and let me know if you didn't get the medicinal teas download.

      Lisa

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  5. Will def try the dry leaves now. I bruise fresh leaves a little before adding them to my pot of tea. My fave is with chamomile, slice of ginger, lemon & honey if I have it. I also infuse the leaves to make oil, & with vodka for tinctures. Truly a miracle plant!

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  6. Yes, it really is a miracle plant! I use plantain oil for so many things. It's great especially in skin salves. I use it for burns and they heal wonderfully. I'll have to try the plantain tincture idea. Thanks!

    Lisa

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  7. I bought wild plantain and it has the whole thing in the bag. The leaves, flowers, seeds and I'm sure roots. Can I use all of that for tea? It's all mixed in. I wasn't expecting that when I purchased it.

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    1. I would pull out the leaves and use just those if at all possible...unless it's all dried and chopped together which I would not have expected either! You can use it all for tea though it's going to have a different flavor than if you used just leaves a lone. HTH!

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  8. When my son was little, he was bitten by a brown reclus spider. I was told by a gal who worked for me at the time who knew a LOT about herbs and their remedies to find plantain, have him chew it and apply it directly to the bite. Later that day, we saw that the plantain had "drawn" up the poison and basically he was spared from any infection and completely healed up within a couple days. I couldn't believe how well an herb remedy would work like that did! More recently my son's (same son) friend was spending the night and was also bitten by a spider. I only had the dry plantain so I gave him some and told him what to do with it. He was also in the military at the time. When he reported in the next day, they had him check in with the doctor. He later told me the doctor said that remedy basically saved his life!

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    1. Wow, that is amazing! Thanks for sharing your stories. I've used plantain for all kinds of scratches and bites but nothing that bad. It great to know that plantain will work even in severe situations!

      Lisa

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  9. After drying plantain, do you keep the leaves whole, or grind them up? How do you prepare dried plantain to put on a wound? I use the fresh plantain all summer long,for reducing swelling, and helping heal some wounds. Thanks for your article. It has taken some time to find an informative site.

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    1. I keep the dried plantain leaves whole until I'm ready to use them. Crush the dried plantain and mix it with a little coconut oil or water to make a paste and smear it on the affected area. I like coconut oil as it's soothing and has antibacterial properties. I'm so glad I could help!

      Lisa

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  10. I have many narrow leaf plaintain in my yard, are they as beneficial, worth my time learning to use? I know this sounds silly- I am just so new.

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    1. Yes, narrow leaf plantain can be used in the same way as broad leaf plantain. It's not silly at all! We all start somewhere! Have fun learning all about herbs!

      Lisa

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  11. Great post and good comment section! I enjoy hearing about how herbs are used in everyday life. I’m just starting my journey with growing and using herbs.

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    1. Oh agreed! I love hearing how everyone else uses the same herbs as I do! I've learned a lot from readers comments over the years, which is why I leave them up so they can be there for everyone to read! Good luck with your new herb adventure!

      Lisa

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  12. Can you dig one up, and bring indoors (in a pot), so you always have fresh leaves? - or are dry just as good? (They don't lose any benefits or properties?
    Do you have a link on here for slaves or tinctures (recipes)?
    Do you know of other medicinal weeds found in Georgia?

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    1. I haven't tried to pot a plantain plant but it should work. Depending how you're using it sometimes dried is preferred. Like when infusing oil...fresh leaves have too much moisture and can cause the oil to go rancid. For bug bites and scrapes though, fresh seems to work better. Here is a super easy plantain salve: https://www.feathersinthewoods.com/2019/06/natural-bug-bite-remedy.html and there is a link near the bottom of the post for 8 easy to forage wild herbs. Hope that helps!

      Lisa

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