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Plantago major - L.                  
                   
Common Name Common Plantain
Family Plantaginaceae
Synonyms
Known Hazards None known
Habitats A common garden weed, particularly in lawns[1, 4, 13]. Rarely in grassy places[17].
Range Most of Europe, including Britain, to northern and central Asia.
Edibility Rating  
Medicinal Rating  
Care
Fully Hardy Moist Soil Full sun

Summary        

Physical Characteristics        
 icon of manicon of flower
PERENNIAL growing to 0.1 m (0ft 5in) by 0.1 m (0ft 4in).
It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from Jul to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.


The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils..It cannot grow in the shade.It requires moist soil.The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.




  
Habitats        
 Lawn; Meadow;
Edible Uses                                          
Edible Parts: Leaves;  Root;  Seed.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 12, 56, 62, 183]. They are rather bitter and tedious to prepare because the fibrous strands need to be removed before use[9]. It is best not to use the leaf-stalk since this is even more fibrous than the leaf[183]. Many people blanch the leaves in boiling water before using them in salads in order to make them more tender[183]. A Chinese form has more palatable leaves - it contains about 2.7% protein, 0.4% fat, 2.2% ash[179]. Seed - raw or cooked[62, 172]. Very tedious to harvest[172]. The seed can be ground into a meal and mixed with flour[183]. It is very rich in vitamin B1[179]. The whole seeds can be boiled and used like sago[193]. The dried leaves make an acceptable tea[183]. Root[183]. No further details.
Medicinal Uses


Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antidote;  Astringent;  Demulcent;  Deobstruent;  Depurative;  Diuretic;  Expectorant;  Haemostatic;  Laxative;  Ophthalmic;  Poultice;  
Refrigerant;  Vermifuge.

Common plantain is a safe and effective treatment for bleeding, it quickly staunches blood flow and encourages the repair of damaged tissue[254]. The leaves are astringent, demulcent, deobstruent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, haemostatic and refrigerant[4, 7, 9, 21, 147, 165, 172, 238]. 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[238, 254]. They are used externally in treating skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, cuts, stings etc[4]. The heated leaves are used as a wet dressing for wounds, swellings etc[213, 222]. The root is a remedy for the bite of rattlesnakes, it is used in equal portions with Marrubium vulgare[207]. The seeds are used in the treatment of parasitic worms[213]. Plantain seeds contain up to 30% mucilage which swells up in the gut, acting as a bulk laxative and soothing irritated membranes[238]. Sometimes the seed husks are used without the seeds[238]. A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion[7].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details                                          
Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[200]. Although this species is a common garden weed, some named forms have been selected for their ornamental value[233]. An important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies[30].
                                                                                   
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.
Expert comment                                          
 
       
Author                                          
L.
                                                                                   
Botanical References                                          
17200
                                                                                   
Links / References                                          

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2]Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[5]Mabey. R. Food for Free.
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[7]Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants.
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9]Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants.
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[12]Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder.
A handy pocket guide.
[13]Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants.
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[17]Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles.
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21]Lust. J. The Herb Book.
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[30]Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe.
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
[56]Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants.
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.
[62]Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants.
Very readable.
[147]? A Barefoot Doctors Manual.
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[165]Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[172]Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[179]Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao.
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[193]Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia.
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[207]Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers.
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[213]Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food.
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222]Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America.
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[233]Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[254]Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers comment                                          
 
Elizabeth H.
Giles Oatley Tue Jun 12 2007
I've searched everywhere on the internet, and cannot find one garden centre etc that supplies Plantago major. The best I have found are leaves from a US site. Can someone help me to get the plant please. Thanks, Giles
Elizabeth H.
bobise Tue May 6 2008
You will probably never find a plantain for sale. They are weeds, esp where I live, and grow every where. Just try to find one growing wild and transplant it, it should be easy if you live in north america. The broadleaf variety I usually find is hardy to zone two. I sometimes call them toe whackers, because when you walk barefoot through an unkept lawn, you can feel the stalks whack your toes.
Elizabeth H.
Sylvie Thu Jun 12 2008
Giles, I read your request today. I hope you still come on this site. You can get the seeds from www.Richters,com. It is located in Ontario, Canada. They ship to many places. Hope this help. Sylvie

Elizabeth H.
david n Tue Dec 30 2008
I find the large mature leave are fine for wrapping food in like grape leaves. I boil them for a while, and probably do make an unconcious effort to bite hard to sever the fibers.
Elizabeth H.
giunar Wed Dec 9 2009
we are searching the economic and environmental significance of this plantago majora .. so pls help me to find the best answer for this question ... i need it for my reasearch paper ,,, thank u more power fin

gjhorenz@yahoo.com help for reacerch

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