Plantain
by Gudrun Maybaum
Avian Nutrition and Herb Consultant
E-mail: gudrun@totallyorganics.com

Known as the MOTHER OF HERBS in old Anglo-Saxon. I call it my miracle herb. Plantain was brought to the Americas by the settlers. It should not be confused with the cooking banana called plantain in middle and south America.

When I have a bite from a bird or another serious injury and I put a plantain leaf simmered for 10 min on the wound, the pain disappears within minutes. Plantain contains tannin, which has the ability to draw tissues together (ask me why I don’t have a big scar from a bird bite on my nose).

After finding out more about it, I started using it internally and it proved to be an even more powerful healer for the inside. Besides the fact that it is loaded with trace minerals, it is known to neutralizes stomach acid and poisons, stops hemorrhaging, heals chronic lung problems and lots more. I use it often in combination with other herbs for different problems. For example, the leafs made into a tea with Slippery Elm Bark Powder for all kinds of problems with the crop and the digestive tract.

Plantain grows in almost every yard and can be given freely to your birds as food as long as the area is not sprayed with any chemicals.

Your Parrot Place

Karen, I have read about plantain, and totally forgot how useful it is...and my garden is full to overflowing with the stuff, as I live in New York where it grows like crazy, and don't maintain a lawn, so to speak. I wonder if there is an optimal time to harvest the stuff...many herbs are best harvested in early Spring, others at this time of year. Do you know anything about that? Thanks for the heads up

I recently starting reading about this herb. From what I've read harvesting would be Spring through Fall depending on it's use and the taste desired. You can use it fresh or dried. Late spring, early summer when the leaves are tender is the best time for fresh use with a more delicate taste and into fall for dry use with a more pungent taste.

The seeds from the long shoots germinate from September through November. The seeds need to be dry for harvesting so I would think just prior to germination would be the time to harvest them.

I would like to find some recipes to make a paste out of it for bites/cuts/abrasions.

Some good info here; Plantago major (Common Plantain)

Plantain is edible. The very young leaves can be added to salads, or cooked as greens. The leaves do become stringy and strongly flavored rather quickly as they age, particularly where they grow in hot, dry, or very sunny locations. This does not mean they are no longer edible, only that at this point, they are better suited to making stock or tea.

Plantain is very high in beta carotene (A) and calcium. It also provides ascorbic acid (C).

I just found this;

WHAT PART AND WHEN TO HARVEST?
Traditionally the whole plant has been used medicinally with the leaves being the most commonly used part in current herbal preparations. The leaves are harvested during late spring and summer, flowers as they arise depending on the climate, and roots generally spring or autumn.

Herbal Studies

I wonder if there's a market for it? My lawn would be a gold mine!

Karen, I am taking a refresher course in herbal studies, and am currently reading about plantain... I have read that "The combination of plantain leaves with a pinch of cayenne is considered excellent for drawing out foreign objects embedded in the flesh". Plantain is also supposed to be useful for removing "excess fat where toxins are retained" (from Michael Tierra-the way of Herbs).

I feed the leaves to my birds in the spring as well as shepperd's purse, lamb's ear, dandelions, etc. Lots of 'weeds' out there that are excellent for them.