Before you pull out that weed, look again. It might be a plantain, one of the most useful herbs on the planet!
Plantain herbs have been around for centuries, and they grow on almost every continent. There are two genera, or types, that offer the most beneficial health properties: Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata. Plantago major is shorter with rounder leaves, while Plantago lanceolata have a more pointed, narrow leaf. Both offer the same natural ingredients. In fact, all of a plantain's parts can be made into a curative. Even the soft, spiny tops!
Plantain herbs are rich in Vitamin A, C, and K, Potassium, Calcium, Sodium, Phosphorous, Copper, Zinc, Magnesium, and fiber.
Use them to improve the following conditions:
- Kidney and Liver Function: Drink one to two cups of plantain tea (recipe here) daily.
- Burns: Apply the poultice (recipe here) to the burned area and cover with a bandage. Follow up with a homemade plantain salve.
- Sunburns: Apply the tea to cool your burn and relieve the pain, then add a salve.
- Acne: Add a drop of plantain tincture (recipe here) into your regular washing regime. Use the salve as an all-organic paraben-free moisturizer.
- Poison Ivy/Oak: Apply the poultice and then wash with the tea.
- Throat Infections: Gargle with the tea or diluted tincture.
- Snake Bites: Immediately apply the tincture. Re-apply liberally.
- Cold, Flu and Respiratory Infections: Place two drops of tincture under the tongue and drink plantain tea with organic lemon and raw honey.
- Dandruff: Add the tea into your washing routine and massage scalp with a plantain salve.
PLANTAIN TEA:
- Plantain Leaves
- 3-5 Cups of Water