Common Plantain Plantago major
It surprises me just how many edible plants pop up in your yards as weeds. Common Plantain is one such plant. Plantain has two main uses as a food source It can be cooked as a green and eaten as a salad, while the leaf is still young. According to one source even the young flowering spikes can be eaten raw or cooked. One of the joys of typing these articles up is that I get to also learn about medicinal values of each plant. In ancient times, the plant was used to heal wounds. It was taken for asthma, fever, and for the eyes. Our native people used it for pain, swelling, snakebites, and yes even hemorrhoids. In tea form, it was taken for diarrhea, bloody urine, and digestive problems. This plant has confirmed antimicrobial abilities.
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Comments: 11
Jennifer - I didn't know that it was plantain was good for poison ivy.
Shannon - Thanks for reading the article.
Tonia - Tonia give me time. I just might. I want to get out and get some pictures done so I can get more plant pictures to share.
Have you done an article about jewel weed? I did a search opf Gather and didn't find it.
Jewel Weed is an amazing plant that is used for alleviating the sting of nettles and itch of poison ivy and insect bites. It is often found where nettles grow and in damp, sunny places in the woods or beside a lake or stream. It has a beautiful little yellow-orange and red flower. See http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/jewelwed.htm for more information.
Edward -m I often wonder how much research has been done on some of our native plants.