Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 22

Thread: Cut assist healing Plantain

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Shenandoah Valley VA
    Posts
    19

    Default Cut assist healing Plantain

    Has anyone tried using this plant? I had two cuts and used this plant mashed up on one that healed in less than a day, while the other took several days. Minor cuts. It is considered a weed in lawns and lots of people pay to have it sprayed to get rid of it. I also heard it is edible and that the seeds are used for Metamucil. Thoughts?


  2. #2

    Default

    I've eaten it boiled in the spring, along with dandelion greens. Plantain leaves get bitter and stringy when they get older. You pretty much have to boil those to mush.
    Supposed to have a lot of vitamins but there are pleasanter things to eat out there.

    My herbal says a poultice made from the leaves or roots has been used as an anti-infection agent and healing promoter. Never tried it.
    Also says it can be used as a tea for soothing diarrhea. Never tried it for that either.
    If we are to have another contest in…our national existence I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism & intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition & ignorance on the other…
    ~ President Ulysses S. Grant

  3. #3
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Texas, but travel widely
    Posts
    1,077

    Default cool plant

    I have not used that particular plant for its natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties but would probably try it for a fairly minor cut with reasonable precautions and common sense. The reason that many gardening clubs and websites are very negative about this is that some people do not apply reasonable common sense. Some people may use herbs for medical issues when a medical professional should be consulted (a major wound or illness) or they may have a sever allergic reaction to a particular plant, this could be bad if they used it for the first time in a remote location. These extreme cases are unfortunate because a knowledge of plants can be very valuable, their useful properties can also change during different times of the year and for different parts of the same plant and by slightly different species and cultivars etc, while others have the same useful properties over a wide range of species for virtually the entire plant. I'm a bit of a plant nerd and am constantly learning about them.

    Edit Funny and disturbing story: I was on a fun nature hike with a delightful Naturalist (NOT the naked type) who was explaining many useful plants at a State Park. We saw lots of "Wood Sorrel" (Oxalis) that grows in may people's lawns and when we reached the trailhead there was some growing beside a utility box and the Naturalist suggested that oxalis was edible and people could try it. One young girl did. I cringed because a utility box right beside a trail intersection is a favorite spot for dogs to mark their scent. That Oxalis may have been a little salty. Oh well…

    So be careful were you pick your herbs
    Last edited by TXyakr; 01-08-2015 at 06:54 PM. Reason: Edit: Oxalis story, herb selection take care

  4. #4

    Default

    Just dogs?
    If we are to have another contest in…our national existence I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism & intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition & ignorance on the other…
    ~ President Ulysses S. Grant

  5. #5

    Default

    I use plantain leaves all the time1 I mash up and apply directly to the cut. (minor cuts...not for those times when I cut my arm off) and a second one whole wrapped around the cut as a sort of band-aid. I often get wee little knicks and cuts at work and plantain seems to be handier in most cases than the first aid kit

  6. #6
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    you can make a salve from it too. Steep chopped leaves in olive oil for several weeks. Give it a couple shakes a day. After several weeks strain the leaves from the oil and mix 5 parts oil to 1 part bees wax, use a double boiler for this. When well mixed it's done. Find a suitable container, like a clean snuff can and fill it.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  7. #7
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by randyt View Post
    you can make a salve from it too. Steep chopped leaves in olive oil for several weeks. Give it a couple shakes a day. After several weeks strain the leaves from the oil and mix 5 parts oil to 1 part bees wax, use a double boiler for this. When well mixed it's done. Find a suitable container, like a clean snuff can and fill it.
    Have a tin of this salve made by a Herbalist Lady at the farmers market.....I use it....and seems to be soothing.
    Seems to have separated a bit as the oil collects a bit in the center.

    I don't have it here and the label is hand printed a bit hard to read....but a few other things besides plantain in it as well.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  8. #8
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    In other news......man has leg amputated due to infection. When asked why he did not seek medical attention earlier he said "I was waiting several weeks for my plantain leaves and oil to mix".
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  9. #9
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    Yeah well, our bathroom is full of Magic potions.........I'm waiting to see if any work...LOL
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  10. #10
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    gee wiz, just don't cut yourself until the salve is made, simple LOL.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  11. #11
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by randyt View Post
    gee wiz, just don't cut yourself until the salve is made, simple LOL.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  12. #12

    Default

    plantain is also good for healing bruses as well like when your hiking crush leaves and place against foot put sock back on.
    or for other areas .

  13. #13
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    6

    Default

    Plantain also works on bug bites. Takes the itch away and the swelling goes away a lot faster...

  14. #14

    Default

    We have been using plantain for a few years and we love it. Just last week I was helping my dad cut wood. I was stacking the rounds in the truck and my brother was throwing them in. I reached sown to grab one and my brother chucked one in at the same time. One 30+lb chunk crushed my hand against another, which slid 10 inches after the impact. I felt a pop as the log hit my hand and incredible pain. It was my pinky knuckle that made the pop and it turned a dark color and swelled instantly. I knew it was bad so I had my son pick a bunch of plantain. I chewed it up and put it on the joint for at least ten minutes. The pain level dropped from a 9 or 10 to about a 3. The swelling went down as well and I was able to finish the day. I was able to run the saw and stack wood. I am pretty sure my knuckle broke, but I have 95% use in it right now. There is almost no pain or swelling and it has full mobility. I love herbs and am grateful for them.

  15. #15
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    isn't plantain similar to a banana?
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  16. #16

    Default

    Yes that's very confusing. It's the exact same name for both plants. There is the common herb plantain which grows all over the yard, and the big 'ol banana plantain they like to eat in South America. Don't know who's idea it was to call them the same thing.
    "When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry"-Dick Cheney

  17. #17
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    Well, let me be dipped in doo doo....I didn't know that.....
    Wow....Mentioned this to DW and she says....."Yeah, they are the little ones".....everyone know that.....?

    Gotta go rake leaves......
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  18. #18

    Default

    Some try to differentiate the two by referring to one as a herb. But, technically the banana family are the tallest herbaceous fruiting plant. Probably easier just to refer to the plantain that was the original subject of this thread as plantago.

  19. #19
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    That's why I like to use the Latin name.

  20. #20
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    I've never known you to use latin, maybe pig latin though. No latin for me
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •