All about Plantain's medicinal properties!

Links & resources from this episode

• Prisoner’s Herbal Book
• La Herbolaria de lxs Presxs – Ediciones en Español
• Ukraine Herbal Solidarity Crowdfunder

Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/

Support the show

Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host

Nicole Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary . This is your place for

all things plants and liberation.

Let's get started everyone.

Thank you for coming back to the podcast.

I had a fantasy of maybe recording something while I was in Calais

but as ever failed because it is just so hectic there.

Spent a week there with our Mobile Herbal Clinic, which is the new name

for Herbalists without Borders Calais.

Gonna be doing a bit of a launch, kind of rebrand thing that we'll talk about soon.

So I'll wait till then.

But we had, yeah, quite a long week.

We saw 560 odd people.

In Calais and Dunkirk

. There was like a big eviction in

cops kind of like overturned all the grass with the tractor, which was

where we were doing our clinic and where other groups and projects and

agencies and stuff like give things out.

. Yeah.

It's just all part of this kind of like hostile environment attitude to make it as

difficult as possible to support people.

Yeah, we saw lots of kind of, you know, like similar things that we

see, like huge amounts of coughs and colds, digestive issues.

Some very, very, very badly infected winds.

Had to take someone to hospital cause he couldn't walk.

Cause his leg was so infected and he kind of urgently needed antibiotics.

So, yeah, a very busy week, but a really, a really great team and just been kind

of grounding, getting back to things now.

Yeah, so this show is gonna all be about plantain, which is one of the

herbs in the prisoners' herbal book.

This is the book with 10 profiles of different medicinal plants that you can

find kind of commonly in prison courtyards that I worked with when I was inside.

And yeah, it's like, I know, I know I'm gonna say it and I know

it's in the beginning of the next slot, but it is literally, again,

another, like all time favorite herb.

I really see plantain as this kind of like wound healer and I really

see it as an ally for people doing like heavy, heavy work in the world.

And yeah, it's kind of, yeah, used to getting like,

you know, stood on, but yeah.

Thrives and it, you know, it keeps going and it still provides

medicine despite its conditions.

So, the other exciting thing that happened at the beginning of the month was the

launch of the prisoners herbal in Spanish in, And I'm gonna like butcher

this next section when I talk about the book, cuz my translation is terrible.

I did do GCSE Spanish when I was a kid, but.

Yeah, it's kind of long gone from my brain.

But they had the launch event for the, for the book.

The book that's been the prisoner herbal that's been translated into Spanish

for people in the Spanish day and also for people in Mexico and beyond

called La Herbolaria de Ixs Presxs.

And yeah, the, the launch event was at a site Which is kind of like

an ongoing occupation called the Plantón de Mujeres Mazatecas . Okay.

Sorry.

I'm gonna get Heather and other people who speak Spanish on

the show cuz this is terrible.

But it's basically like a site of an ongoing occupation of women, family

members of political prisoners in Oaxaca.

And yeah, the copies of the books were given to people.

Like their family members inside.

Yeah, the photos are amazing.

I put some on my Instagram, like I totally just balled my eyes out.

Like they made this like incredibly beautiful big banner.

And yeah, they actually wrote a text, which a friend translated

for me, so I'm gonna read it out.

We wholeheartedly thank you for the invitation yesterday to the presentation

of the book La Herbolaria de Ixs Presxs organized by collectives in support

of political prisoners and our beloved Mazatec compañeras who have allowed

us to accompany them in the demand for freedom for our compañeros and compañeras.

It was a very moving event, and we want to share some reflections with you.

First, we want to recognize that a friend at the encampment in dedication to

compañeros and compañeras, who passed to the next world without reaching freedom,

sorry, they had a picture of Taylor there and they had like offerings, like flowers

and bits of food and tobacco and stuff.

And it was just, yeah, it was just so beautiful.

Okay.

Sorry.

. I dunno where that came from.

I just, Yeah.

Perpetual grief hole.

Okay.

Around the world, states use prisons to take the lives of women and, and

men who rebel against the system.

Women who defend their lives, migrants, poor people and peasants.

Prisons are the tumor of our societies, the one that grows and grows,

revealing a sick society incapable of solving problems without punishment.

And.

We remember every woman and man murdered and killed by the prison system and police

brutality in every corner of our world.

We also invite you to check out the book La Herbolaria de lxs Presxxs and

by it in support of our compañerxs it is a very beautiful book made by an ex

political prisoner of the United Kingdom.

Nicole Rose, who knew perfectly well the lack of health inside the prison.

There is no dignity for anyone inside.

There are no doctors, there is no health.

This book is a symbol of hope for all those who resist inside prison wars.

We leave with our hearts full with the pain of knowing that injustices

are repeated in every country, and there are those who call themselves

activists and feminists and are happy to see Karla and Magda in prison.

Here we are and we will give the fiercest fight and with more love until

we embrace them again, them and all the prisoners with whom we walk day by day.

We leave you with this little poem written by Nicole Rose about her resilience

by comparing it to the dandelion.

Here we are resisting like dandelions, and so are Karla and Magda.

We love you sisters.

And this is the little poem.

It's called Outlaw.

It's in the prisoners.

Her book.

Just for a moment, I lose myself and all that I am is the plant in my hand.

My heart engaged in a language older than words.

I ask your permission, take in your bitter healing.

I am no longer VM 93 85.

Tasting the wild.

I am alive just for a moment.

No prisoner, no criminal, but a wise woman who talks with plants like

ancestors who heard their whispers, thousands of generations before.

Alive in the wilderness.

A wild outlaw.

All right.

Gosh, literally dunno what's going to me today, but I think I

just need to have a bit of a cry.

I appreciate everyone.

Thank you so much for listening.

No one's left a review yet.

And I'm way too shy to ask, but like, If you could, that would be amazing.

I had one email from someone being like, I'm one of the six queers listening.

And it just, it just made like all the difference to know

that someone was listening.

But anyway, so.

If you wanna support the show that in that way, that would be amazing.

And yeah, haven't talked about Ukraine and the horror of yesterday, but I'm

gonna, yeah, gonna get Lana Ukrainian herbalist blist on the show very soon,

and we're gonna talk about the project and everything that's happening.

But for now, just again, yeah, like a general request for donations.

Okay.

All right.

Enjoy this section about plantain.

I hope plantain becomes one of your favorites too.

And yeah, lots of love speaks soon.

Okay, Plantain.

I know I said that I would do this, but.

And I would say that every, every plant was my favorite in the last episode,

but honestly, plantain is my favorite.

Okay.

Maybe second to dandelion, but like definitely top three.

Okay.

Latin or snake weed.

LA name plantago major and plantago lanceolata.

And I should have gone to private school to learn how to pronounce

Latin because I would be much more impressive on this podcast anyway.

Okay.

Plant family.

Plantaginaceae, the plantain family.

Identification.

Ribwort plantain, which is the lanceolata one, low rosettes of

narrow dull or greyish-green, hairy leaves with numerous parallel veins

running through the length of the leaf leaves, taper very gradually to their

narrow bases and very short stalks.

They have short, dense blackish flower heads with creaming stamens.

I mean, how hot does that sound?

Oh my God.

I need to stop adlibbing.

This is terrible.

Okay.

On Leafless stems in comparison, greater Plantain has broader leaves, which are

hairless or with short hair and taper more abruptly into distinct leaf stalks, which

can be as long as the leaves themselves.

The flower head is long, narrow, and green.

Or brown when dead.

Other species.

Narrow leaf plantain (P.

minor), Sea plantain (P.

maritima), Indian plantain (P.

afra), Psyllium (P.

ovata).

All 34 species of plantain are edible and medicinal folk names in English.

Plantain (P.

lanceolata), Greater plantain (P.

major), Waybread, Snakeweed, Soldiers, Kemps, Fireleaves, White Man’s Foot,

White Man’s Footsteps, Waybroad, Ripple Grass, English man’s foot,

Broadleaf, Cuckoo’s Bread, Rat-tail.

Planta in Latin means foot.

Chemical constituents.

Okay, here we go.

I hate this bit.

I'm just, I'm just gonna do my best.

Okay.

And if anything, I hope it makes you laugh.

Okay.

Iridoid glycosides (aucubin, catalpol); tannins; polysaccharides,, (galactose,

glucose, xylose, arabnose, and rhamnose IE mucilage); alkaloids

(plantagonine, asperuloside); flavonoids (baicalein, apigenin, scutellarin.

nepetin, hispidulin, luteolin, plantagoside).

Yeah, I should like ask for donations to send me on the Plant chemistry

course so that I can actually hear some videos of someone pronouncing

these names, not just in the textbook.

Okay.

Food and Nutrition all plants are all plants.

All parts of plantain are edible.

Mark Petterson writes in the nutritional herbal that Plantain

major seed is very high in calcium, crude fiber, dietary fiber and fat.

It is also high in protein, silicon, sodium, and zinc.

Katrina Blair describes how Plantain seeds are a sustainable food rich in proteins,

carbohydrates, fatty acids, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and other minerals.

The seed coat is made up of 30 percent mucalige.

The mucilage absorbs toxins in the digestive tract and greatly

supports effective elimination.

The seeds act gently in lubricating the colon with its mucilaginous nature making

the perfect food and medicine in one.

The plantain seeds are a relative of psyllium seeds and have the same

gelatinous quality, making a valuable base for thickening soups in recipes for

binding crackers and firming up desserts.

Plantago lanceolata is also grown as a perennial salad crop in

Italy and other parts of Europe.

Ecological role.

Plantain grows on dryish neutral to basic soils in short, grazed,

unimproved grasslands and also in improved grasslands along hedgerows

and roadside and on waste ground.

Plantain is an excellent cover crop for soils harmed by extractive European

agriculture or repeated trampling.

She also makes good forage for animals, domestic or wild.

You'll see plantain wherever there is bare soil.

She is somehow the lands living plaster.

Plantain is called White Man's Footsteps because of how it followed

European settlers on native land.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the beautiful book, Braiding

Sweet Grass, describes plantain.

"Our people have a name for this round leaf plant, white man's footsteps,

just a low circle of leaves.

Press close to the ground with no stem to speak of it.

Arrived with the first settlers and followed them everywhere they went.

It trotted a long path through the woods and along wagon roads and railroads

like a faithful dog, so as to be near."

I love how Hawthorne references plantain as a tool for decolonization.

They write "Plantago reminds us that good allies take the backseat.

They remain unobtrusive and supportive until called upon.

They do not take up extra space or time that others need, unlike other introduced

plants, buckthorne, knotweed etc.

Plantain has not disrupted ecosystems or threatened endangered native species.

She only takes up space where there are already empty spots,

putting herself with the edge of eroded areas or busy sidewalks.

She helps keep the soil healthy by holding it in place and healing compaction, but

then moves on to allow others to thrive".

Cultivation.

Plantain commonly propagates itself by seed with one source saying that

plantain seed can remain viable for up to 60 years, which is fucking amazing.

While plantain is generally found on bare and disturbed soils where it does

have access to more fertility, it will become impressively lush and large.

You should see photos of Plantain in my polytunnel, like you've

never seen anything like it.

Everyone's like, Oh my God, it's so big.

Which also sounds weird.

Sorry, it's a weird day.

Okay, Energetics.

Temperature, cooling.

Moisture, astringent and demulcent.

And the tissue states heat excitation, dry atrophy, damp

stagnation, and the taste is bitter.

Herbal Actions.

Alterative, antibacterial, antidote, astringent, antiseptic,

demulcent, deobstruent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hemostatic,

inflammation modulating, moistening expectorant, ophthalmic, vulnerary.

Whew, that wasn't too bad.

That list much better with herbal actions than I am constituents.

Health Challenges supported by Plantain .Plantain has been used

medicinally for thousands of years.

It was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo Saxons who called

plantain Lacnuga, the mother of worts.

Below is some medicinal uses of plantain.

Topical first aid.

Plantain is a supreme ally for wound healing and skin injuries from bites,

cuts, scrapes, and stings to punctures.

Plantain is your plant.

This is because plantain works simultaneously as a fantastic drawing

agent and is an astringent and vulnerary.

Astringent means that the cells and tissues are contracting and tightening.

Vulnerary is another word for wound healing.

In Ireland, a single plant leaf served both actions.

One side of the leaf was meant to be used for drawing out and the

other side of the leaf for healing.

Plantain has the ability to suck out dirt, splinter, stings and poisons.

I remember being bit by a spider, bitten by a spider or some other, my mystery

insect, while being at a hardcore show.

After leaving my hoodie in a dusty cupboard, I searched outside, and even in

the middle of the city of Bristol, I found Plantain growing through the concrete.

I washed it and chewed it up in my mouth before placing it on my bite, and lo and

behold, I drew out whatever had gotten in there and the swellings subsided.

Plantain also has the ability to treat infected wounds due to its antibacterial

and antiseptic antiseptic actions.

Herbalist, Sajah Popham writes how Plantain applied topically has the ability

to draw out that infection, bring fresh, fresh blood to the surface, stimulate

local immunity, detoxify the area, and provide its own antiseptic properties.

It's super powerful as a spit poultice..

A loved one of mine from Siberia jokes that in russia, plantain is used

for everything with a comedy sketch.

If your arm gets chopped off, just use Plantain.

You can also line your socks and shoes with the leaves and it help

and it helps prevent blisters.

This links to one of its names, way broad as it is found along roadside, and you

can use it when you walk long distances.

Leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut syndrome with gut issues, almost endemic in our Western cultures.

Due to chronic stress, overuse of antibiotics, food, allergens,

and intolerances, non-organic food and pollution, plantain

can be an important ally.

This is due to its astringent, and vulnerary action, literally

healing our internal wounds.

Imagine the gut lining as our inner skin.

Sajah writes once again, We see the combination of astringency and

vulnerary actions helping to heal and tonify the lining of the gut.

A reduction in inflammation directly on the gut wall, but also systemically,

a soothing demulcent action, as well as the antiseptic quality,

helping to alleviate any possible flora imbalances or infection.

Plantain is literally like a formula unto itself when it comes

to treating leaky gut syndrome.

The slight bitterness of the remedy also supports digestion as a whole.

If using plantain for gut healing, then similarly to mallow you need to really

cover as much surface area as possible.

So decoctions or infusions are best

. Constipation.

Plantain seeds can help treat constipation, adding a bit of

moisture and a bulking laxative to help to help getting things moving.

It is important to also increase fiber.

For example, more fruits and vegetables and stay well hydrated.

Doing small massage, self-massage circles, clockwise around the abdomen

while you're lying down, can also help.

Plantain can also be used for hemorrhoid.

Respiratory Tracted infections.

Plantain is a fantastic resource for a dry, irritable cough because

it is soothing and moistening, but also has an expectorant action.

An expectorant helps you to bring up phlegm and expel it.

It's great if you have one of those lingering coughs

that will not go away easily.

Dental Care .Herbalists, Julie and Matthew Seal right how a word of fresh plantain

can be placed against sore teeth and its drawing action is particularly powerful

for tooth infections, cankers or ulcers.

Tea can be held in the mouth or you can soak cotton well in a strong infusion

or tincture and pack it into the area.

Urinary tract infections.

Sajah describes how plantain is a good herb for urine tract infections.

The herb is a mild but effective diuretic agent providing its astringent and

mucilagnous properties to the mucosal membranes, which line the urinary tract.

This makes it highly beneficial for urinary tract infections where

there is an excess of irritation, heat, dryness and bleeding.

Plantain effectively causes and sedates the heat and inflammation soothes

the irritation, moistens the dryness, astringes the bleeding, assists in

drawing out the infection, and also provides an antiseptic action and

a bit of local immune stimulation.

How to practically use plantain in prison.

Where you might find plantain?

Plantain is likely to be where people walk and on the edges of paths and beds.

I commonly found it on the edges where the curbs were when we were

working in the prison gardens.

It might also be growing in beds, but it prefers poorer soil.

Fresh leaf bites, cut scr, scrapes and stings.

Chew a leaf in your mouth and then apply directly to the area.

Hold there until the pain goes away or until the bleeding stops.

You might want to swap to a new leaf if needed, especially if one has

already drawn something out of there, like bits of gravel or insect poison.

Bigger wounds.

See the wound care section.

Sore teeth and gums, tooth infections and mouth ulcers.

You can chew and apply the leaf directly to the area and or you

can make a strong tea and hold it and swish it around the mouth.

Hemorroids, a strong infusion drunk internally will aid

recovery from hemorrhoids.

Addressing the root causes not so much bringing symptomatic relief.

Fresh or dried leaves.

Leaky gut syndrome, plantain is most effective at treating leaky

gut when combined with other herbs.

Commonly combined include calendula, chamomile,

peppermint, fennel, and licorice.

I think it is unlikely in prison that you would have access to all these plants.

However, you might be able to buy camomile and peppermint on canteen.

You would want to make a tea of whatever you can mix together or

plantain, fresh or dry on its own and drink it throughout the day.

It would be ideal for several weeks, if not months, if you were

trying to recover from leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, or or other

inflammatory digestive conditions.

Respiratory infections and dry irritable coughs.

Make a cold infusion with Plantain leaves to soothe an irritable, irritable cough,

or to help clear a chest infection.

Urinary tract infections.

Plantain is a powerful ally for UTI infections, providing

their hot in nature eg.

Burning sensation, dryness, irritation or bleeding.

Drink, strong infusions of cold plantain.

It works well combined with the yarrow too.

Seeds.

Constipation, eat the seeds fresh or dried for extra roughage.

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.

You can find the transcript, the links, all the resources from the show