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Plantago major

Common name:	Common Plantain	Family:	Plantaginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Most of Europe, including Britain, to northern and central Asia.
Habitat:	A common garden weed, particularly in lawns[1, 4, 13]. Rarely in grassy places[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. asiatica[B] P. halophila[B] P. major ssp. intermedia[B] P. major var. asiatica[B] P. major var. intermedia[B] P. major var. pachyphylla[B] P. major var. pilgeri[B] P. major var. scopulorum[B]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Arnoglossa [E], Bazir Dam Bil [E], Broadleaf Plantain [L], Buyuk Sinirliot [E], Ch'E Ch'Ien [E], Common Or Great Plantain [S], Common Plantain [P,H,L], Daum Sejumbok [E], Ekur Anjing [E], Gechi Qulaghi [E], Great Plantain [B,L,H], Grote Weegbree [D], Lisan Al Hamal [E], Llanten [E], Llanten Mayor [E], Meloh Kiloh [E], Otot Ototan [E], Plantain [E,H], Sangka Buwah [E], Sangkubah [E], Sangkuwah [E], Sei Ohr Re [E], Sembung Otot [E], Suri Pandak [E], Tarkuz [E], Wegerlich [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	major = larger
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Plantaginales. Plantain family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Algeria Britain Canada(Kwakiutl) Canary I Chile China Dominican Republic Ecuador Europe Europe(Prussia) Germany Haiti Hawaii Iran Iraq Japan Java Kurdistan Malaya Mexico Panama Peru Poland Spain Trinidad Turkey Us(Appalachia) Us
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.12m by 0.1m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to September, and the seeds ripen from July 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. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

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 and Possible Locations

Meadow, Lawn.

Edible Uses

Leaves Root Seed Tea.

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

Disclaimer

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].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

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.

Cultivars

'': There are a number of named forms selected for their ornamental qualities, but we know of no improved edible forms and so no entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

The Edible Lawn

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[W] Photos (common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for plantago major (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Plantaginaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
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. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
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. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
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. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
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. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[30] Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982 ISBN 0-330-26642-x
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.

[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
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. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
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. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
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. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
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. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
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. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
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. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
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 J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
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. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
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 Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

Edible Wild Plants For Tortoises

Linda King Sat Aug 18 18:20:37 2001

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/Diet.htm

Please go to my main Diet page and click on the Plant List link at the top. This is a new section of my Tortoise Care website, and is an illustrated Edible Wild Plants list for tortoise keepers in the UK. Click on the Latin names to see the illustrations which are all original work. The information with the illustrations would be equally applicable to iguanas and herbivorous mammals.

Details of Growing Condition: UK.

Cross references: Plants: Taraxacum officinale , Leontodon, Hypochoeris , Crepis biennis, Crepis capillaris , Lapsana communis , Cichorium intybus , Sonchus oleraceus , Plantago media, Plantago lanceotata , Malva sylvestris, Malva neglecta, Malva moschata , Capsella bursa-pastoris , Cardamine hirsuta, Cardamine flexuosa , Trifolium repens , Trifolium pratense , Vicia sativa , Vicia sepium , Vicia cracca , Onobrychis sativa , Campanula rapunculoides , Convolvulus, Calystegia , Sedum album , Sisymbrium officinale .

Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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