Plantago lanceolata
| Plantago lanceolata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Plantago lanceolata (common name: ribwort plantain)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
A sowing can be made outdoors in situ in mid to late spring if you have enough seeds.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[1]. Plants also succeed in very poor land[2].
An important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies[3].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia.
Habitat: Grassland, roadsides etc, a common weed of lawns and cultivated ground, on neutral and basic soils[4][5].
Edibility: Young leaves - raw or cooked[6][7][8]. They are rather bitter and very tedious to prepare, the fibrous strands are best removed prior to eating[4][9]. The very young leaves are somewhat better and are less fibrous[K].
Seed - cooked. Used like sago[10][9]. The seed can be ground into a powder and added to flours when making bread, cakes or whatever.
Medicinal: Ribwort plantain is a safe and effective treatment for bleeding, it quickly staunches blood flow and encourages the repair of damaged tissue[11].
The leaves contain mucilage, tannin and silic acid[12]. An extract of them has antibacterial properties[13]. They have a bitter flavour and are astringent, demulcent, mildly expectorant, haemostatic and ophthalmic[4][14][15][16][17][18][12][11]. Internally, they are used in the treatment of a wide range of complaints including diarrhoea, gastritis, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, haemorrhage, haemorrhoids, cystitis, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis, asthma and hay fever[19][11]. They are used externally in treating skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, cuts, stings etc[2]. The heated leaves are used as a wet dressing for wounds, swellings etc[20][18].
The root is a remedy for the bite of rattlesnakes, it is used in equal portions with Marrubium vulgare[21].
The seeds are used in the treatment of parasitic worms[20].
Plantain seeds contain up to 30% mucilage which swells up in the gut, acting as a bulk laxative and soothing irritated membranes[19]. Sometimes the seed husks are used without the seeds[19].
A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion[22].
Usage: A good fibre is obtained from the leaves[2], it is said to be suitable for textiles[23].
A mucilage from the seed coats is used as a fabric stiffener[2]. It is obtained by macerating the seed in hot water[24][23].
Gold and brown dyes are obtained from the whole plant[25].
Pollinators: Wind, flies, beetles
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
Seed Ripens: Early Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Carter, David. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan, 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Loewenfeld, Claire and Philippa Back. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.