Plantain Balm
With the start of a new job in horticulture looming, I thought it wise to bolster my gardening experience and agreed to help my friend tackle his ‘bramble forest’. Cue several splinters later, something was needed to soothe my hands which resembled something akin to spinosal pin cushions. So, what better herb for the job, in my humble opinion, than plantain (I do love it).
Plantain is a herb I was initially slow to work with what with it preferring compacted ground, particularly along footpaths and not being in the best state, and being firmly in the ‘dog wee zone’. However, I soon enough found some cleaner locations. This preference for growing in compacted ground has given plantain one of its more commonly known common names as devised by Native Americans, namely ‘white man’s footprint’. This is due to the thoroughfares of Europeans on lands far from home being made detectable by the presence of plantain. The picture below perfectly illustrates its ideal habitat!
What’s in a name?
This particular recipe used both ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and broadleaf plantain (Plantago major). As previously mentioned, plantain has an association with pathways and is said to be derived from Planta which is Latin for the ‘sole of the foot’. Linnaeus in his ‘Philosophia Botanica’ lists Plantago as ‘a plant to be touched <tangere>’ in a section entitled ‘Generic names that are diminutives wrung from Latin can be tolerated, though they are not very good.’
Ribwort plantain is often said to take its name from the large veins which run along the length of the leaf and look ‘rib-like’. It could also be argued that the plant was so-named due to its bone healing properties, particularly the ribs, as this quality has been referenced in multiple sources. Culpeper in his Complete Herbal, states that ‘It is also good to be applied where any bone is out of joint, to hinder inflammations, swellings, and pains that presently rise thereupon’. Phillips (2012), in an exploration of plants in Myth, Legend, Magic and Lore, highlighted the identification of plantain as a plant of healing in the Scottish Highlands which said to be ‘particularly good as an aid to the healing of broken limbs.’ Furthermore, Shakespeare alludes to its bone healing properties in Romeo and Juliet in which Romeo exclaims to Benvolio that ‘Your plantain leaf is excellent … For your broken shin’. The inclusion of ‘wort’ in the name also lends itself to earlier medicinal use. As for the latter half of its binomial name, ‘lanceolata’ is from Latin meaning ‘lance-shaped’ and gives indication to the long, pointed form of the leaf.
Broadleaf plantain takes its name from its wider shape than that of ribwort plantain, being more oval in form. The use of ‘major’ in its binomial name refers to its large size.
In the kitchen
Both ribwort and greater plantain can be eaten raw or cooked. It is often given a rough ride in terms of its texture and taste (as well as under foot) but I think it can be a full-bodied and flavourful addition to salads and stews. The leaves, best when young in Spring, can be treated as a spinach leaf and lend themselves well to being sautéed or steamed. The flower heads can be eaten, also raw or cooked, and have a pleasant bitter mushroom flavour; stir frying them is my preference. Finally, the seeds, which have a light nutty flavour, can be used either whole as an ingredient or milled into flour. Mixed into a highly nutritious porridge is where the plantain seeds that I gather mostly find themselves. Plantain’s qualities as an earthy herbal infusion shouldn’t be overlooked and it is also a delightful addition to spring tonics.
Plantain has a similar vitamin C content to most cultivated vegetables and is a good source of plant-based calcium. On average, it also has similar amounts of protein, lipids, carotenoids and magnesium as most common vegetables and double the fibre; however, it is lower in iron, phosphorus and potassium.
In the apothecary
Plantain’s strength is in its skin and wound healing abilities and is the ‘go to’ in nature’s first aid kit for stings and bites. It has the ability to staunch blood flow and encourage the repair of damaged tissue. Plantain is also antibacterial and can soothe and cool inflammation. Another key strength of plantain is as an expectorant and can help with coughs and colds. It can also be an aid for diarrhoea due to its astringent action and soothing effect on the mucous membranes of the digestive tract; the seeds of ribwort plantain can be used to alleviate constipation. Also, plantain, particularly greater, is a good remedy for ‘plantar fasciitis’ (pain on the bottom of your foot, around your heel and arch) and the large oval leaves lend them selves perfectly as a medicinal inner sock lining.
In the library
Plantain has a place in folklore as a herb of love divination and is associated with Johnmas (St. John’s Day – 27th December). It is said that at Johnmas on the Shetland Isles, two scrapes (plantain flowers) were picked which represent a couple. All the anthers were removed and the flowers were wrapped in a dock leaf and hidden under a rock. The flowers were checked the next day and if more anthers appeared, the couple’s love was to flourish. Plantain also has history as a herb of protection. During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, plantain was said to protect from evil and, in parts of Scotland, there has been the tradition of wearing a plantain root necklace which prevents abduction by the faerie folk. Plantain also has association with misfortune, sharing the name ‘mother-die’ with a host of other wild flora, and bringing it into the house was avoided.
Plantain was one of the Anglo-Saxon’s sacred herbs (known then as ‘waybroad’) and was included in the ‘Nine Herbs Charm’ for the treatment of poisoning and infection as recorded in ‘Lacnunga’, a 10th Century CE medical compilation. I think it describes plantain perfectly:
“And you, Waybroad, mother of herbs,
Open from the east, mighty inside.
Over you chariots creaked,
Over you queens rode,
Over you brides cried out,
Over you bulls snorted.
You withstood all of them, you dashed against them.
May you likewise withstand poison and infection
and the loathsome foe roving through the land.”
Plantain balm recipe
Equipment:
Pan; glass bowl (or any heatproof bowl which sits neatly on top of the pan); measuring jug; small, sterilised glass jars.
Ingredients:
20g sunflower wax
200ml plantain infused sunflower oil (see below for method of infusion).
Instructions:
1. Put the wax into the bowl.
2. Boil some water and add enough to the pan so that the bowl just sits in the hot water. Turn the heat on to a medium setting.
3. Turn the heat off once the wax has dissolved and pour in the infused oil, stirring gently to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into small sterilised jars and seal. Use within six months.
An intention for this recipe was for it to be animal free and as local as possible. Although I’m sure I eventually could’ve sourced all materials from the UK, the oil was from France and the wax from Italy.
Plantain oil
Equipment:
Pan; glass bowl (or any heatproof bowl which sits neatly on top of the pan); measuring jug; clean muslin; funnel.
Ingredients:
25g dried plantain (crumbled)
150ml sunflower oil
Instructions:
1. Place the dried plantain into the glass bowl and cover with the oil.
2. Boil some water and add enough to the pan so that the bowl just sits in the hot water and heat gently for three hours. Ensure the water doesn’t reach boiling point.
3. Leave to cool and pour the mixture through a muslin lined funnel into a sterilised container.