Plantain is an herb with many uses. Make this plantain weed drawing salve to relieve all your bug bites, bee stings, slivers, and rashes.
Plantain Weed (Plantago major, P. lanceolata)
Energetics: cool, somewhat moist
Therapeutic Actions: anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-obtrusive, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, vulnerary
There is a silver lining in every cloud.
The lawnmower is broken. Darn thing won’t start, and the fixes just aren’t fixing it. And the yard looks like we are thiiiiis close to abandoning the place (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration there). Where’s the silver lining, you ask?
The weeds!
The weeds?!
Yes, the lovely, lovely weeds. There are dandelions, white clovers, and pineapple weed aplenty – all granted a stay of execution from the blades of my husband and his beloved mower. But I am most particularly honed in on the plantain weed. So, while my husband is curmudgeonly about the situation, I am not so secretly pleased with the bounty of delightful medicinal herbs at my disposal. Time to get some plantain for the season and plantain drawing salve for all!
Plantain Weed Medicinal Uses
This ubiquitous garden weed is an herbalist dream. Abundant and full of medicinal uses, plantain is a first class remedy for the home apothecary. I seek out plantain for all number of skin irritants and complaints. It is the perfect herbs for hot, itchy conditions such as insect bites, bee stings, splinters, blisters, and abscesses. Plantain seems to soothe inflamed tissue, dislodge foreign matter, and draw out infection, swelling, and irritants. It is often used to calm itchy skin, rashes, and allergies. It also makes an effective compress for uncomfortable hemorrhoids. Plantian is a drawing herb — it pulls irritations, infection and inflammation from the tissue.
Plantain is also a highly effective herb for complaints of the throat and lower digestive tract. Its unique blend of astringent and demulcent properties promote tone in lax tissues while also soothing inflammation. This makes plantain an excellent choice for those with a hoarse voice and a persistent tickle in the throat, as when as those suffering from leaky gut or diarrhea.
Plantain Weed Identification
There are two main varieties of plantain, P. lanceolata and P. major. Both leaves are characterized by pronounced, highly tactile ribbing. P. lanceolata leaves are long, narrow and sword-shaped; P. major leaves are broad, somewhat oval, and attached in a basal rosette. Both varieties produce a small flower spike by midsummer. This herb is common in pastures and lawns throughout temperate regions. Harvest only from spray free lawn free of potential contaminants.
For best results, plantain should be dried quickly, without excessive heat. I use a dehydrator like this set to a low setting.
Plantain Weed Safety and Dosage
Like most of the herbs I discuss, plantain is widely considered a safe herb, without any known side effects or drug interactions. That being said if you are pregnant or nursing, taking prescription medication, or have a chronic illness it is best to consult a medical professional before using this or any other herb.
Acceptable plantain dosage is 2-3mls up to three times daily, or an infusion of two teaspoons of dried herb in 8-10oz of water drank up to three times daily. External application in form of an infused salve or herbal poultice can be applied as need.
FDA Disclosure
I am a trained herbalist with a degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, I am not, however, a doctor. Posts in this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Before using any herbs, check for appropriate dosage, drug interactions, and contraindications. Information contained herein is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe. Please consult your primary care physician regarding your specific health concerns.
How to Make a Plantain Weed Herbal Drawing Salve
When you were little, did grandma ever chew up a bit of something out of the lawn and apply it to your bee sting? Plantain is a traditional “spit poultice” herb, will the exceptional ability to draw. As such, it is the perfect herb to use in a drawing salve. I have found this simple recipe to relieve inflammation, soothe irritation, and draw out all matter or splinters, stingers, slivers, ingrown hairs and even decompress puffy water blisters. With our penchant for being barefoot outdoors and our sweet, mosquito-attracting blood, my family would surely not make it through a summer season without pints of this salve. In addition to plantain, this herbal drawing salve recipe contains dandelion blossoms and fennel to provide added irritation relief.
Interested in more “first aid herbs”? check out this post on calendula and this one on arnica!
Interested in learning more about common medicinal plants? Check out my new book The Backyard Herbal Apothecary!
Plantain Herbal Drawing Salve Recipe
Plantain Herbal Drawing Salve
Ingredients
- 1 cup base oil of your choice (I like 50% olive oil with 50% coconut oil)
- 1/3 cup plantain leaves dried
- 1/4 cup dandelion blossoms dried
- 1/4 cup fennel fronds dried
- 3-4 tablespoons beeswax pastilles
- 48 drops essential oils, optional I like fennel, ravensara and rosemary in equal parts
Instructions
- Combine base oil and dried herbs in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place in a small crockpot with water to the fill height of the jar. Infuse on the lowest setting heat for 24-48 hours. Alternatively, the oils can infuse without heat for six weeks, or rapid infuse in a double boiler over for 30 minutes.
- After oil is adequately infused, strain through muslin or cheese cloth. Return oil to a double boiler, add beeswax and essential oils, then warm until completely melted. Remove oil/beeswax mixture from heat.
- Pour into individual 2-ounce containers (approximate 4) or other similarly sized jars. Allow to cool completely before putting a lid on the jar.
References:
Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: the science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.
Wood, Matthew. (2016). The earthwise herbal repertory: the definitive practitioner’s guide. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
14 Comments
Thank you, I was just looking for this information about plantain.
I love salve, but sometimes I have no time (or patience) to make one. Is simply dissolving the leaves in alcohol and making a tincture going to be effective?
I love your site, very informative, and love the simple recipes.
Thank you, Diana!
I really hear you about the patience — it is a trait I am often short on myself!
Applying a plantain tincture externally should still have some benefit, especially in relieving irritation and redness. I can’t speak to the “drawing” nature of a tincture, but I am sure that it would at least have some of the effects a salve would. Oil and alcohol do extract different constituents at different levels.
Thanks,
So when I am in the mood of experimenting, I’ll make some tincture. But I definitely want to try your salve. 🙂
Just one more question: Can you tell when is the best time for harvesting plantain? I can find them even in winter under the snow.
Thank you greatly! Lovr your expertise and generous sharing of knowledge!
Thank you, Patty!
Can you possibly leave out the fennel all together? The smell makes me ill
Absolutely!
Wondering if dandelion leaf would be as effective as the blossoms in this recipe??
I choose dandelion flower for the emollient and soothing properties.
I have P. Erecta in my yard. Would that work for this? Or does it have different benefits?
Can you speak the effectiveness of the essential oilseed are left out or reduced? THAnks!
Hello Devon. I’d like to share a little story about Plantain. My poor finger, a few splinters from wood, digging out with a needle was not successful, asked Mr Google ‘drawing out splinters’, spitball a wad of plantain and use as a poultice, so I did, under a bandaid overnight, reddened skin under perimeters of bandaid and when I took it off extremely reddened skin under the cotton pad part in exactly the shape of the cotton pad and black marks where the splinters lay lurking, applied a fresh spitball for the next day, another fresh one for the 2nd night, and another fresh one for today. Tonight, I saw that the black marks were blacker (closer to the surface) so out came my needle and I started digging again and my skin peeled off in the shape of the cotton pad more or less and the splinters dug out easily. Now, because it’s too cold to go outside tonight to find another fresh Plantain leaf in the garden) I’ve applied some magnoplasm to draw out any last remnants over night, then healing mode tomorrow morning for the day ahead. Thanks for listening. Plantain is very powerful – the splinters drew out but my skin peeled.
Hello NGM,
I love the look of your drawing salve and plan to make it after I find the dandelion.
But what I would like to ask is whether this recipe applies only to drawing treatments or also to the myriad of other benefits mentioned about plantain salves, most of which only contain plantain and some type of essential oil as an added option.
I’ll make two kinds if the properties of the drawing salve are not ideal for the other uses.
Thank you very much
Karin
Hello NGM,
I love the look of your drawing salve and plan to make it after I find the dandelion.
But what I would like to ask is whether this recipe applies only to drawing treatments or also to the myriad of other benefits and recipes I’ve come across
Many thanks
Karin