Herbs of Utnapisjtim: Plantago Major

In Norway we call this plant 'Groblad' as in 'Grow-leaves' and has earned a near magical reputation for healing wounds. Infact, I have yet to find any remedy in nature or in modern medicine alike with matching effect. You simply wrap a leaf or two around the wound, cut or burn, and it heals in notime. Truely magical.

Plantago Major ("Plantain") is of the Plantaginaceae family, and grows all over the world, and there is hardly any garden where grass grows where Plantain can't be found. American natives called them "White Man's Footsteps" since Europeans brought them to the New World for their near magic qualities. It is said to stay or normalise "fluxes of women's courses" according to Culpeper. It is known to reduce or relieving fever, and can induce a cooling sensation to the one suffering the fever.

If you have a burn or a cut, either wrap a few leaves around it, og chew it into a pulp and then apply it. You can also press it for it's juices for a more concentrated result. The latter being a good way of curing malignant ulcers through drinking pressed juice mixed into water or most any other drink.

From Wikipedia (link below) about edibility:

The leaves are edible as a salad green when young and tender, but they quickly become tough and fibrous as they get older. The older leaves can be cooked in stews. The leaves contain calcium and other minerals, with 100 grams of plantain containing approximately the same amount of vitamin A as a large carrot. The seeds are so small that they are tedious to gather, but they can be ground into a flour substitute or extender.

And further on about medicinal use:

Due to its astringent properties, a tea of plantain leaves can be ingested to treat diarrhea or dysentery. Due to the high vitamin and mineral content, plantain tea simultaneously replenishes the nutrients lost as a result of diarrhea. Adding fresh plantain seeds or flower heads to a tea will act as an effective lubricating and bulking laxative and soothe raw, sore throats. When ingested, the aucubin in plantain leaves leads to increased uric acid excretion from the kidneys, and may be useful in treating gout.

For ingestion, use young leaves, and they taste quite good by themselves, but it's fibers are quite tough, som you'd perhaps want to remove the stem. Or you can dry them for the evening cuppa.

Like with all herbs, use caution and consult your doctor before using them. This one is a coagulant, so if you eat blood thinners or are in risk of blood clots, you shouldn't eat or drink it.

Sources:
www.amazon.com...
www.botanical.com...
en.wikipedia.org...
Plantain at Witchipedia

I hope you don't mind me adding some more info to your list. I had thought it would be a good idea to start a series of herbal threads but since you're already doing such a good job I'll just add a bit to yours

Plantain is another one of those herbs that is almost a panacea with how many uses it has and how many different ailments it's good for. It's been called "Natures Band-Aid" as when applied to wounds, burns and cuts it promotes healing and regeneration of damaged skin cells and helps to stop bleeding. It is also anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-parasitic. It is very useful for respiratory illnesses as it helps to strengthen the lungs and increase respiratory function and is particularly good for people trying to quit smoking as it causes a natural aversion to tobacco. It helps with drawing parasites out of intestinal walls and is very beneficial externally as a poultice for any kind of bite or sting or for drawing out splinters, thorns or stingers. Another thing it is really good for is any kind of condition that has to do with collagen or connective tissue issues as it acts as a tonic to help support collagen production and connective tissue strength and regeneration. The seeds especially have a very high mucilage content and are actually the original source for Psyllium fiber (Metamucil) which helps to coat and heal the gut and GI tract issues and acts as an osmotic laxative (helps to retain and increase water in the small intestine and colon.)

Not much for contraindications, it can be used safely during pregnancy and breastfeeding though with its high mucilage content you should not take it with other medications as it can interfere with their absorption.

The seeds are very high in protein and can be added to breads (and pretty much anything else really) and the (young) leaves can be used in place of spinach, either raw or cooked. All in all a very useful and beneficial herb to familiarize yourself with and if you have a look outside, chances are you'll find it growing in your garden or lawn.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Ate the long stem/stamen? as a child, my late Mom, & all my late Dad's late sisters use to put young leaves with fiddle head into salads when all camping together along with Dandelion, sometimes they fried them in butter, or also used wild Onion/Leeks, wild cabbage, wild mint, wild sage, wild tulip bulbs, wild ginger, wild Seneca Roots and one I can't remember the name of but the tops looked like a regular carrot top, the root between a carrot, for salads, frying, & soups.
I remember them tasting amazingly delicious and had all of the same 5 years ago.
They were as tasty as I remembered.
My late Maternal Grand-Mere used to roast the Seneca Root like one would Roast Peanuts. Deeelicious....
There were other wild foods/veggies also but can't recall.
We only knew of the medicinal properties of the Seneca Roots and fresh moss, the latter used as diapers for diaper rash and the way others use Aloe. I prefer the moss but can't really grow it lol.....

ThankQ for sharing such an amazing & informative post.......S&F

Hope to see a new Herb of Utnapisjtim on ATS EVERY DAY! =D

S/F

gardener
Hope to see a new Herb of Utnapisjtim on ATS EVERY DAY! =D

S/F

And so I intend

Sonder
I hope you don't mind me adding some more info to your list.

Absolutely not. The more and better info the better.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Excellent post, when we walk in nature we walk into a natural pharmacy, one we have all forgotten about or have never learnt about, as we once would have.

reply to post by StormyStars


Loved reading your post. It's time people opened their eyes to these plants, both as medicine, but first and foremost for their cooking qualities. These days we need more green stuff in our diets, and often you'd just need open your door and grab a handfull of whatever grows on your doorstep. That said, even common grass can be used as veggie supplement to an unhealthy diet. Infact, most of our grains were once common grass (well they still are of course), but through crossing and selection, strains yielding more and being more nutricious were chosen and there we are.

Take the Solanum (Solanaceae) family for instance, like tomatoes and potatoes. They were once (and to some extent still are) highly toxic and in the same family as 'Deadly Nightshade' and other toxic and feared plants. The natives of the Americas were experts in this process of crossing and selecting, and we have much to thank them for.

Also, Plantain is a member of the same family as Digitalis Purpurea or Foxglove: Plantaginaceae, or the former Scrophularciaceae in the case of foxglove, which are now counted as the same family. In Norwegian we call it the "Maskeblomstfamilien". Being severly toxic, digitalis is also used these days to produce heart-medicine. Talking of which, a few years ago I ended up with rather heavy burns under my feet after having walked bare-foot on hot tarmac. I treated the burns with Plantain and when the pain was at it's peak I went out and found some digitalis and stuffed them into my boots. After a minute or two the pain was long-gone and I could walk around like nothing had happened. I later understood this could have been quite dangerous, but I just went with intuition, and it worked. For a while the regenerated skin (due to plantain) under my feet was green in colour, but turned back to it's normal colour after a week or so.

Thanks for contributing

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


s/f for thee... nice thread

Plantain and comfrey are also both used as rapid healants. Comfrey was used in the war as poultices for wounds. It is incredible how fast the plant works. I use it myself...!

Thank you for bringing a new plant to my consciousness...

For photos and more information check out this thread from a couple of years ago -
A survivalist's best friend is a weed?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Glad to see you bringing our incredible plant friends some attention Utnapishtim.
Keep up the good work.


Very safe plant to use (be sure to properly identify ANY plant you plan on using) and works wonders for burns, bee stings and infections.
I enjoy both the texture and flavor of the young leaves.
Be sure to only collect from areas where herbicides and other toxins have not been sprayed or runoff has accumulated.

If you learn only 1 wild plant, plantain would be a great choice.

fluff007
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

s/f for thee... nice thread

Plantain and comfrey are also both used as rapid healants. Comfrey was used in the war as poultices for wounds. It is incredible how fast the plant works. I use it myself...!

Thank you for bringing a new plant to my consciousness...

And thanks for the heads up on comfrey. In Norway we call it Valurt (Lat. Symphytum Officinale). I don't know much about it though, but I'll take your word for it. I understand that comfrey is one of but a few plants that produce the 'vital amino acid' (short: vitamin) B12 from the soil and has a wide range of medicinal properties, like the ones you mentioned

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Hope you and others are OK with me posting this series, having posted about some of these plants before. Loved your thread about Plantain! Thought I'd gather them all under one hat, for easy access and quick reference

And I love your nickname, Asktheanimals. American natives did just that, they "asked the animals" about medicinal plants, stalking sick animals checking out their diets for hints of plants' medical properties. Kindof reminds me when my cats come home with grass straws sticking out of their butts, and I'm going, "Poor Balla, have you got a troublesome tummy these days?" Animals are quite wise and well versed in medical herbs and ways to treat everyday problems by including medicinal plants in their diets.

This plant is very common where I live (Wales),and by Grandmother showed me how to use it as a bandage when I was a small kid.
I didn't know that it could be eaten as well though-I shall have to try it out-now is probably a good time for that as the young shoots and leaves will be just starting.

These herb threads are great-keep em coming!

try plantain with a little red sumac droop "berries" together...maybe a little slash of cream cheese
rolled as a horses dover

to die for

I've been studying wild foraging and natural wild herbalism for fun the last handful of years as it's something I've always been interested in and I'm currently taking a course on practical and medicinal herbalism. The more I find out about all these "lowly weeds" that we are so quick to dismiss the more I believe that pretty much every ailment we suffer from (at least those that stem from natural causes rather than pollution or toxic environmental contamination) can be cured or treated with something that can be found in nature. Whether a herb or flower, root or bark, there is very little out there that doesn't have some kind of use for us.

Herbalism was the original medicine and I find it fascinating that herbs that have been safely used for thousands of years are being studied in modern times and being found to be useful for exactly the ailments that the herb is already known for (and then some) It's a damn shame that there isn't more research being done on the uses of plants as medicines but unfortunately I don't see that changing anytime soon. There just isn't any money to be made from people having the knowledge to cure themselves by walking out to their yard and picking and preparing a handful of "weeds" rather than having to go down to a pharmacy to shell out good money for some patented and proprietary drugs.

And for the record.. I've really come to dislike the term "weed" A weed is just a plant we don't yet know how to use

Pine may just be a popular Christmas tree to you, but to Indians, pioneers, mountain men and hikers, the tree has been a source of nutrition, medicine and at times a lifesaver. All pines share basically the same medicinal qualities. However the main medicinal varieties are scotch pine and white pine. The parts of the tree that are highly medicinal are the needles, inner bark and sap. Pine needle tea is high in vitamins A and C. In fact the fresh green needles have five times the amount of vitamin C found in one lemon. Throughout the centuries, people have literally survived on pine-needle tea as well as cured themselves of scurvy by drinking a tea of both the needles and inner bark of the pine tee.

reply to post by saneguy


Pine shoots are excellent survival foods and you could easilly survive on it alone. Then again the taste will "get to you" at some point som further knowledge on edible plants and how to make snares and tackles out of nothing brings in bonuses. You can make a good tackle from plantain stems actually, never done it, but worth a try. Also pines are full of those little dry branches which are perfect for lighting fire, both because they stay dry even in rainy weather, and the fact that they contain pine resin which burns well.

Sonder
I've been studying wild foraging and natural wild herbalism for fun the last handful of years as it's something I've always been interested in and I'm currently taking a course on practical and medicinal herbalism.

I'll keep that in mind, and perhaps I'd ask of your advice one day if I'm stuck with anything herbal. Good luck with the course, sounds rather fun

Utnapisjtim
reply to post by Asktheanimals

 

Hope you and others are OK with me posting this series, having posted about some of these plants before. Loved your thread about Plantain! Thought I'd gather them all under one hat, for easy access and quick reference

And I love your nickname, Asktheanimals. American natives did just that, they "asked the animals" about medicinal plants, stalking sick animals checking out their diets for hints of plants' medical properties. Kindof reminds me when my cats come home with grass straws sticking out of their butts, and I'm going, "Poor Balla, have you got a troublesome tummy these days?" Animals are quite wise and well versed in medical herbs and ways to treat everyday problems by including medicinal plants in their diets.

I'm very happy to see you doing this. Mind? the more the merrier and the more people will learn. Asktheplants doesn't quite roll off the tongue but would be just as true, you don't have to be a Native American or Aboriginal to learn the language of nature. Anybody can do it.
It is important for us all to connect with the source of all life, we live too insulated from nature and make disastrous decisions as a result of our ignorance. If we understand the land we can learn to live in harmony and balance with it instead of living "off" the land which seems to be the current practice. We cannot afford to live like clouds of locusts destroying the land and moving on, we're running out of room.

Before we can change anything politically each of us must re-establish that connection before we will have both the will and the wisdom to make the necessary changes. There is no greater "reality" than nature, all else is an abstraction, a social construct. Until we are grounded in reality we will continue on our current destructive path.

Here's to the plants and animals,, the Earth and sky, fire and water - the greatest teachers anywhere and no student loans to repay!