Herbs of Utnapisjtim: Plantago Major

Utnapisjtim
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

Anytime It's super fun! I love learning that some innocuous little plant that I've walked past without a second thought hundreds of times before has all these uses and virtues that I never would have guessed or known otherwise. It really is too bad that this kind of knowledge is at best being forgotten and worse, being systematically stamped out and vilified by big pharma interests. At least we can do our small part to make sure this kind of knowledge isn't completely lost to us all.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


I just wanted to say thank you too!
There's really not much more to add. Everyone has fleshed it out so well. You are bringing an awareness to some simple common plants that are wonderful little gifts waiting to be used! All of your herb threads are great references. So far I have all of the plants you have touched on, and you couldn't have started with a better few. S&F all of them!

reply to post by woodsmom


Thanks for the compliments, I will carry them with me

Have a couple of alchemical handbooks and manuals too, and perhaps I'll try to combine the methods discribed there to try and distill oils and make lotions in 'the lesser work' (herbal alchemy) and apply herbalism to see if I'll have some luck in making a couple of skincare products or similar.

Always be careful foraging plants along roadsides and public lands... Never know what has been sprayed or washed down. I am always very tempted to pick when I see a large dock or milk thistle while driving

I have been a one trick pony with yarrow for wounds when in the sticks. Will definitely be adding plantain to the herbal lexicon. Thanks for the information

Sonder

Utnapisjtim
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

Anytime

It's super fun! I love learning that some innocuous little plant that I've walked past without a second thought hundreds of times before has all these uses and virtues that I never would have guessed or known otherwise. It really is too bad that this kind of knowledge is at best being forgotten and worse, being systematically stamped out and vilified by big pharma interests. At least we can do our small part to make sure this kind of knowledge isn't completely lost to us all.

Kool, and I see what you mean by passing a certain plant for years and years without noticing until you learn that it's actually a famous rock-star in the plantae kingdom. And yes, the best we can do is stop complaining and do our share and start to walk the walk and talk the talk with these plants. Share what you know if you have positive or negative experiences with others to keep the flame burning with this often ancient knowledge.

J.B. Aloha
Always be careful foraging plants along roadsides and public lands... Never know what has been sprayed or washed down. I am always very tempted to pick when I see a large dock or milk thistle while driving

Indeed. Therefore, when you see one of these plants gather seeds, roots (if they are perennial) and cuttings from them and try growing them or simply drop the seeds in perfect spots. Take care to research what conditions the different plants desire, and set them free from being lost along dusty and toxic tarmac.

I have been a one trick pony with yarrow for wounds when in the sticks. Will definitely be adding plantain to the herbal lexicon. Thanks for the information

I must admit I too am a one trick pony meself in respect to botany, but I know a couple of people who cherish botany, the lesser work and herbalism as hobbies, so I tend to pick up a thing or two from them along the road (pun intended)

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


I make a simple salve that can be adapted to any herbs and oils that you want to use. I usually make a few different kinds when I make the base up. Bear with me though, I make this up like I cook, so there are no exact measurements.

Get an old pot, a wooden spoon that you don't cook with, cheesecloth, a funnel, a ladle (optional) and sterile jars.
For the actual salve you need
about a dozen vitamin E capsules,
a couple of tablespoons of lanolin,
A handful of beeswax, use more if you add more olive oil, the ratio should be close to 2:1, olive oil to beeswax
about a cup and a half to two cups of olive oil,
fresh or dried herbs
essential oils of your choosing (optional).

I start by infusing the olive oil with the herbs in a small pot. When the oil has visibly changed color, but before it actually cooks the herbs, I strain the herbs out with the cheesecloth. ( I have been known to toss the bag of herbs into a bath afterward to get a second use out of them.) Return the olive oil to the pot. Now is when I add the other base ingredients. I used to squeeze the vitamin E out of the capsules, but have since discovered that they melt just fine without that step. Next I add the lanolin and the beeswax. I cheat a bit and buy the pellets, they melt more evenly and it's easier to measure a bit out. I add the essential oils after I have removed the pot from the heat, everything is liquid enough to incorporate them, but they also don't cook off all of the volatiles either. With your funnel, pour the liquid into jars and seal. They should be hardened just enough by the next day. I try for a consistency just a tad firmer than petroleum jelly.

Good luck and have fun. Plants are are amazing and versatile. They feed and clothe and heal us. I don't think you can ever know too much about them.

wait... I did not know that you can eat it.
Is basically growing everywhere here in Germany (at least in my region).

It even grows a lot in my backyard, maybe I should consider it for a salad next time

reply to post by woodsmom


Much appreaciated. Thanks a lot for the salve recipe, I saved it for later.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Absolutely. I was just watching a BBC documentary the other day about hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in USA as 'the new black' in extracting the last bits of natural gas from thousands of feet below the surface. It's made by a Scottish geology professor named Iain Stewart. You can see the documentary below:



Kind of reminds us that behind all those new jobs and the advanced technology involved, we must not forget that the Earth is quite fragile and when ground water becomes fizzy and purple, it's time to rethink the whole situation in our quest for wealth and energy, and regulate stuff like shale gas, oilsand and using mercury in goldmining near animal habitats and so on more carefully.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Great plant, plantain. fyi - One plantago species provides psyllium husks, marketed as 'metamucil' plus generic brands. Not just a laxative, it lowers cholesterol and few other good things too.

soficrow
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

Great plant, plantain. fyi - One plantago species provides psyllium husks, marketed as 'metamucil.' Not just a laxative, it lowers cholesterol and few other good things too.

==> en.wikipedia.org...

Wikipedia, I know, but the info seem adequate somehow. Excerpt from the wikipedia article:

Several studies point to a cholesterol reduction attributed to a diet that includes dietary fiber such as psyllium. Research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concludes that the use of soluble-fiber cereals is an effective and well-tolerated part of a prudent diet for the treatment of mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia. Although the cholesterol-reducing and glycemic-response properties of psyllium-containing foods are fairly well documented, the effect of long-term inclusion of psyllium in the diet has not been determined.

Choking is a hazard if psyllium is taken without adequate water as it thickens in the throat[1] (see Psyllium seed husks). Cases of allergic reaction to psyllium-containing cereal have also been documented.

Thanks for boosting the thread's quality

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


You're killing me with these Threads. I love 'em!

But thankfully you have provide the links so I can further do some more research. I've known about the properties of many plants but seem to have forgotten much. Thanks for stirring up the old grey matter again. It was getting stagnant I think.

TDawgRex
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

You're killing me with these Threads. I love 'em!

Wicked!

But thankfully you have provide the links so I can further do some more research. I've known about the properties of many plants but seem to have forgotten much. Thanks for stirring up the old grey matter again. It was getting stagnant I think.

Hehe, don't know whay, but somehow it made me think about how strange it is that the brain is made mostly of fat and that we even have a second brain situated in our bellies

Utnapisjtim
Indeed. Therefore, when you see one of these plants gather seeds, roots (if they are perennial) and cuttings from them and try growing them or simply drop the seeds in perfect spots. Take care to research what conditions the different plants desire, and set them free from being lost along dusty and toxic tarmac.

I must admit I too am a one trick pony meself in respect to botany, but I know a couple of people who cherish botany, the lesser work and herbalism as hobbies, so I tend to pick up a thing or two from them along the road (pun intended)

I have. I owe a great deal of high quality burdock to doing just as you advised. I like the term tarmac... I envision a paving of the planet when I hear it; and only those hardy "weeds" can break through.

I look forward to your next herbal installments.

I would like to add my thanks to you for these threads as well. I've been studying this stuff for the past 20 years or so and am gradually learning to use all the stuff I find growing in my area, for food or medicine.
I'm partial to plantain because it is useful for so many things. Once I noticed a small red spot on my leg while I was working in the yard, it was sorta burning/itching so I plucked some plantain leaves and chewed them, slapped them on the spot and wrapped a bandana around it. That evening the spot looked a bit better so I forgot about it and didn't renew the poultice. By the next morning it was very angry looking so I repeated the treatment and added a bit of crushed dandelion as well. I kept this up for the next two days but by the third day the spot had red streaks running from it so I broke down and went to the doctor. When he looked at it he diagnosed it as a brown recluse spider bite and asked when it first appeared. I told him that I'd had it for five days and had been "treating" it with natural plants. "What the heck did you use?" was his question. He then told me that he'd never seen a five day old bite that hadn't developed extensive necrosis. Mine had just a tiny spot of black in the middle. I never had to have the usual debriding of the tissue that those bites require but I did have to resort to "white man's medicine" as my doc called it. But he made extensive notes on what/how I had used it.
That was many years ago and he has now passed. Today if I mention using plant medicines I usually get an eye roll or a stern lecture on how I could do more harm than good by using "that stuff" instead of the pricey meds they are selling.
But I continue to use "that stuff" because I know it works. Nothing better for blisters from a new pair of shoes. (Yes, I should have known better about new shoes but sometimes....)

if you take plantain leaves and you rub then hard in your hand they will get all liquidy
that will take the itch of poison ivy or stings away for about 4 hours
in this manner it is relief but not a cure

if you want to heal the same use jewel weed it has little orange w/spotted flowers
it will cure poison ivy over night

J.B. Aloha

Utnapisjtim
Indeed. Therefore, when you see one of these plants gather seeds, roots (if they are perennial) and cuttings from them and try growing them or simply drop the seeds in perfect spots. Take care to research what conditions the different plants desire, and set them free from being lost along dusty and toxic tarmac.

I must admit I too am a one trick pony meself in respect to botany, but I know a couple of people who cherish botany, the lesser work and herbalism as hobbies, so I tend to pick up a thing or two from them along the road (pun intended)

I have. I owe a great deal of high quality burdock to doing just as you advised. I like the term tarmac... I envision a paving of the planet when I hear it; and only those hardy "weeds" can break through.

Kool and deadly, man! Keep up the good work!

I look forward to your next herbal installments.

I'm working on something special for the moment. Expect awe-striking surprises. A very common plant/tree with quite a few interesting chemical compounds, used today in basic treatment of acne with well documented effect, aswell as being the main ingreedience in common and popular analgesics. You might have to run it through a bever though, and of course collect it's dung for further processing in your (hopefully well ventilated) home lab With beavers being scarce the last decade or so, they are growing in popularity and as it turns out a good companion in the daily fight against impurities and pain.

Danbones

if you take plantain leaves and you rub then hard in your hand they will get all liquidy
that will take the itch of poison ivy or stings away for about 4 hours
in this manner it is relief but not a cure

if you want to heal the same use jewel weed it has little orange w/spotted flowers
it will cure poison ivy over night

Luckily we don't have much trouble with ivy here, but the same technique can be used to treat most insect bites. I chew it to a dough and apply the cuddy paste. I use this technique because I believe we have some useful enzymes in our mouths that may tune the plantain's chemistry to each'is particular bodies' own chemistry. I may be totally wrong, but I normally trust intuition and often go by the gut.

Great info once again. I learned some more about this also, things I did not see when researching this noxious weed. I'm beginning to think all things called noxious weeds are extremely important.

I like plantain made like cooked spinach with butter and a tad bit of milk myself. I consider it superior to spinach in taste. It is very high in oxalates, it's alright to eat it occasionally without cooking it well, but it can form kidney stones. If you drink milk with it, the calcium binds to the oxalates and the oxalates aren't absorbed. Some people do not have problems with stones, but I am not one of those who is that lucky.

I have to tell my kids to come and read this, they need to know about these things. You are doing a great job organizing this OP.