Plantain: A Healing Herb in Your Backyard

Katie Wells Avatar

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This post contains affiliate links.

Read my affiliate policy.

Plantain-Backyard Healing Herb
Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Plantain: A Healing Herb in Your Backyard

Plantain is one herb that I literally would not be without. It grows in abundance in our yard so we use it fresh during the warm seasons and dry and freeze for use in the winter. I make salves with it for calming bug bites, rashes and burns and it works wonders.

What is Plantain?

Plantain, or Plantago Major, is a common backyard herb with broad leafs. Most people think of it as a weed, though it is an incredibly useful herb. According to Mountain Rose Herbs:

“Legend has it that Alexander the Great discovered it and brought it with him back to Europe in 327 BCE. It has been referred to as the Whiteman’s Foot by Native Americans, as wherever they went, it seemed to spring up. and in some places, it is seen as a noxious, invasive weed. It is, however, a useful little plant. It has been used by many cultures the world over, and the Saxons considered it one of their nine sacred herbs.

It was considered an early Christian symbol of the path followed by the devout and many cultures today refer to it as an aphrodisiac. The leaves are quite edible, and often used raw in salads and cooked as greens. Older leaves have a stronger, sometimes objectionable flavor, and can be tough and stringy, but can be used to make tea.

Plantain is very high in vitamins A and C and in calcium. Medicinally, Native Americans used plantain leaves to relieve the pain of bee stings and insect bites, stop the itching of poison ivy and other allergic rashes, and promote healing in sores and bruises. Plantain tea can be used as a mouthwash to help heal and prevent sores in the mouth, and as an expectorant. Most recently, plantain is being marketed as a stop smoking aid, adding one more use to the list of ways that this versatile herb is useful.”

“Plantain has been used as a panacea in some Native American cultures and with some very good reasons. Many of its active constituents show antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, as well as being anti-inflammatory and antitoxic. The leaves, shredded or chewed, are a traditional treatment for insect and animal bites and the antibacterial action helps prevent infection and the anti-inflammatory helps to relieve pain, burning, and itching. There is some investigation ongoing to study its affects on lowering blood sugar.

 The Many Uses of Plantain:

Plantain leaf can be made into a tea, tincture or infusion and used internally (according to Practical Herbalism):

  • To help get Cholesterol to healthy Levels
  • To aid those with Diabetes
  • For Hemorrhoid relief
  • To help relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • To help calm the bowels during Constipation or Diarrhea
  • To sooth kidney and bladder problems and to aid with Bladder infection, ITIs and similar problems. Safe for children
  • For indigestion and ulcers

Plantain Leaf is also very soothing on external  inflammation:

  • Bites
  • Stings
  • Rashes
  • Eczema
  • Psoriasis
  • Burns
  • Cuts
  • Yeast
  • Varicose Veins

 How to Use Plantain:

If fresh plantain grows in your yard, you can make sure it has not been sprayed by pesticides or pets and use in teas or the young leaves in salads.

For stings and bites,  make a poultice of fresh plantain leaf and bentonite clay with water to form a paste. It will take away the pain immediately when placed on the bite or sting. If you don’t have the other ingredients nearby, just chew up a leaf of plantain and spit on the bite. It sounds gross but greatly relieves the pain.

An infusion or strong tea of plantain leaf (dried or fresh) sprayed on a sunburn will cool the burn and relieve the pain. This will also help sooth rashes and reactions from Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac. To make an even stronger remedy, steep plantain leaf (fresh or dried) in apple cider vinegar for a few weeks and then strain. The infused vinegar will sooth itching, burning and pain on the skin very quickly.

A cup of plantain tea from fresh or dried leaves will sooth indigestion, heartburn or IBS. It is calming on all types of digestive disturbances. It is also helpful for UTIs, Bladder infections or kidney infections.

I make a salve of Plantain and other herbs to speed healing of wounds and use in place of antibiotic cream. Recipe soon.

You can also get pre-made Plantain tincture, tea, or healing salve to have in your  purse or first aid kit when needed.

NOTE: Plantain is generally considered a safe herb but as with anything, consult your doctor before using if you have any kind of medical condition. It should not be used in place of medical attention when needed.

Other Backyard Foraging

Ever used Plantain? Seen it in your yard and thought it was a weed? Share below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

143 responses to “Plantain: A Healing Herb in Your Backyard”

  1. John Avatar

    Jodi, tell hubby he can now call you “granola head”, if you start using plantain for your hair. Lol
    Where do you get your plaintain? I just bought an 80 gram bag of ground plantain for 7.95 at aroma borealis, a store that Beverley Gray owns here in the Yukon.
    Btw, don’t get me started on the health benifits of Rhodiola! Lol

    1. Jodi Avatar

      John the Yukon sounds pretty exotic to me as I live in Brisbane, Australia! I just got it on eBay and the supplier seemed pretty genuine. As much as you can tell on Ebay anyway – but she was based in Melbourne from memory, and supplied some really unusual and interesting herbs. The shikakai I just get from a local Indian store and it is pretty cheap and lasts ages. At yoga yesterday, the instructor mentioned a herb called Meringa or something like that – apparently likened to a multivitamin, so maybe add that to your repertoire haha! I think it is such a shame we have forgotten all these herbs traditionally and rely so heavily on pharmaceuticals – but it is fun (and overwhelming at times!) to rediscover them and hope we don’t poison ourselves. We are lucky to have sources like Wellness Mama where we can cut down on the research a lot.

  2. John Avatar

    Sorry Jodi, i missed your funny about vaping the plantain, but I think that is done too but they call it steaming, whereby you drape a towel over your head above a steaming bowl of decocted plantain.
    I almost sound like a sandal wearing, tree hugging hippy, expounding on the virtues of grass clippings! Lol
    John

    1. Jodi Avatar

      Haha! My hubby either calls me a mad scientist or a hippy too…but not a tassel or bell decorated skirt in sight lol! I am going to try plantain in my percolator. I may even just put the unground stuff i have in with the water as it gets steeped and filtered that way. Will see how it goes. Thanks for sharing your tips.

      It occurred to me to try it in my hair to soothe my scalp. I already use shikakai (with or without bentonite clay as needed) to wash my hair. Hubby fondly calls it washing my hair with twigs haha! My next thing to master is fermented foods and my transformation to hippydom should be complete 😉

  3. John Avatar

    I use the ground dry leaves of plantain when I brew my morning coffee. It seems to clear my lungs and my blepharitis.
    It is now starting to grow in my yard which is great.
    Plantain is known as the mother of all plants.
    John

    1. Jodi Avatar

      Hi John
      do you mean you add plantain to your coffee or you steep and inhale it while you wait for your coffee to separately brew? Lol! I have chronic blepharitis and morning chestiness so am curious.
      Cheers
      Jodi

      1. John Avatar

        Hi Jodi, I just add a three finger pinch to my morning pot of coffee. It will really help your blepheritis and clear your lungs as well. I dont think you can od on it, so use as much as you like.
        You can also make a strong tea from it and use it as eye drops or an eye wash.
        I am no expert, but I learned everything I know from Beverley Gray’s new book:
        The Boreal Herbal.
        John

        1. Jodi Avatar

          Thanks John! I have dried leaves. I will have to see how i can grind it to a powder and give it a go. The book looks interesting.
          cheers Jodi

          1. John Avatar

            Hi Jodi, I ground mine with a mix master. I’m sure you will get good results as I did. My eyes really cleared up in no time.

  4. Misty Avatar

    I am very interested to know if a person with seasonal allergies to plantain can use it for medicinal purposes.

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      You can, but dried works better since fresh can put moisture into the oils and they can go bad more easily. I’d dry the leaves if you have a couple days to spare

    1. Patricia Avatar
      Patricia

      You can take a leaf of plantain & chew it for a minute to extract the juices from the plant & then spread the chewed leaf & juices on a burn or sting.I wouldn’t advise making a tincture with alcohol or vinegar then putting it on a burn or sunburn.A tea mixed in water and sprayed would be soothing and won’t sting.You can chop this up and just add a little water then spread it on a bug bite or poison ivy.You don’t have to make a salve.

    2. Virgi Avatar

      Borax causes teeth and bone to get brittle. I wouldn’t ingest it. You get plenty of boron from the borax in laundry detergents.
      I found this out after all my teeth cracked. Hair analysis showed that my boron level was sky high. Needless to say, I avoid it now.

  5. Sandy Avatar

    I have ulcerative colitis and IBS from having to take to many antibiotics in 2012. Would it help with that and what would be the best way to use it? Because of the antibiotics I also had cdiff 3 times. Would it help with that in keeping it from coming back?
    Thank you so much for your posts!!

  6. France Avatar

    I must be stupid because I’m just afraid I’ll get the wrong plant even if I see something like the pics! How is everyone else finding it so easily? I am outside the Atlanta metro area, if that helps. I looked on Amazon, but Dr. Christopher’s salves come up and don’t really seem to use the plantain, just comfrey. Did see one with Mother’s something on the label that seemed similar. Can u advise? I need it kinda quick. Sorry and thanks so much!

  7. Tanya Skinner Avatar
    Tanya Skinner

    How long with applie cider vinegar-plantain mix shelf for? Through the summer in a spray bottle ok? Thanks for the info!!!

  8. Jan Jones Avatar
    Jan Jones

    How much tea should I drink to help with moodiness/hormonal issues?

  9. Nancy Avatar

    My plantain is just sprouting and is ALL OVER my property. I prefer the young leaves because they are milder in flavor but they won’t be that way long. What is the best way to “dry or freeze” it as you mentioned in the beginning of the article?

    1. Katie - Wellness Mama Avatar

      You can hang them upside down to try or use a dehydrator. To freeze, it is often recommended to form a paste and mix with a small amount of water and freeze in ice cube trays.

  10. Judith Avatar

    Whoa! those guys used to grow in my veggie garden by hundreds. I hated them and got ride of them till the last one.
    If I knew they were good for ezcema I would had keep them 🙁

  11. Kristin Avatar

    Hi Katie! Love your blog! Question on varicose veins, I have some on my thighs that continually are spreading – they’re not painful just ugly. I’ve radically changed my life in the last 3 years and don’t understand why they keep getting worse. I’m only 26 🙁 Any thoughts?

  12. Jodi Avatar

    Hi I managed to get hold of dried plantain leaves for the salve as it is not in my garden
    I see it is good for yeast in the article. Can you use it topically for thrush and also for systemic candida and dysbiosis and if so how would u recommend this with dried herb?
    Thanks!
    Jodi
    Ps the salve is lovely on my chapped hands thanks!

  13. Dee Avatar

    My daughter (18 months) was diagnosed with glue ear at about 7 weeks. During her first winter she suffered with terrible mucus 🙁 but as she was so small we could not do anything. She’s had a wonderful summer and has been hearing & speaking so well. However now winter is back she’s been ill. Coughs, cold and then tonsillitis 🙁 so now we have a build up of mucus and glue ear is back 🙁 someone suggested plantain. Anyone know why/how this might help our little one?

  14. Joyce Avatar

    When I was about 10 years old I punctured my foot with a garden fork. The whole foot turned red and then blue around the puncture. My mother took plantain leaves and nettle leaves, bruised them and applied them to my foot. Within 1/2 an hour it was all gone. I used it on my grandson for a wasp sting right between his eyes and he immediately stopped crying and there was no swelling. I have been an advocate of plantain for years but I recently had an abcessed tooth and had to have a root canal done. The pain after was worse and totally unbearable even with pain meds and antibiotics. After 3 days of agony I remembered plantain and bruised a leaf and placed it on the gum. Instant relief. I should have done it sooner and not sufferef so long. This is an amazing plant.

  15. Arlene Avatar

    My mom made eye drops from it. For red and itchy eyes. It is very refreshing

    1. Tayler Avatar

      Do you think you could share the recipe?
      My dog has sometipe of boil on her eye and this would REALLY help.
      Thanks

  16. Chellach Avatar

    what about urinary tract infections in children? would a lcrumpled wet leaf help placed on the outside of the bladder help or just drinking a tea?

  17. elena chevs Avatar
    elena chevs

    I am amazed about all the properties of this plant. I have an allergie to a lot of foods. Now I have the left side of my face swollen for 4 days now. Would it help if I drink the tea?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *