Herb
Plantain Leaf
A common lawn weed whose soothing leaf is traditionally used on bites, stings, and scrapes, and as a tea for coughs and the gut.
📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 88/100Tap to see the breakdown
🌱 What it is
Plantain leaf (broadleaf or ribwort plantain) is a common low-growing plant found in yards and along paths — not the banana-like cooking plantain. Its leaves are traditionally crushed for skin use or dried for tea.
✨ Why it's good for you
- Traditionally applied to soothe bites and stings
- May help support the skin's natural comfort after a scrape
- Traditionally used as a tea to ease a cough
- Often used to support gentle digestive comfort
🥗 Nutrition
Per 1 cup brewed tea / fresh leaves · about 3 calories
- Aucubin (bioactive)
- Mucilage
- Vitamin A and C (trace)
Source: Nutrition estimate (per typical serving)
🥄 How to use it
For bites and stings, crush a clean fresh plantain leaf and hold it on the spot; as a teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, steep 1 teaspoon of dried leaf in hot water for 10 minutes. (This is broadleaf/ribwort plantain, not the banana-like cooking plantain.)
How much: Fresh crushed leaf applied to skin as needed; as teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →, 1 teaspoon dried leaf per cup, a few times daily.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Plantain is the broad, ribbed-leaf weed growing in lawns and sidewalk cracks the world over — not the banana-like cooking plantain, but a quiet first-aid plant. Crushed and held on a bite, sting, or scrape, its soothing, drawing quality has comforted people for centuries, and as a teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea → it gently calms a cough and an irritated gut.
The fresh leaf is the classic 'spit poulticeMashed plant material applied right on the skin. How to make a poultice →' of country wisdom (just be sure it's clean and unsprayed). It's about as gentle as herbs come — though any bite with spreading swelling or breathing trouble needs real medical care.
Ways to prepare it
⚠️ Cautions
- Make sure leaves are clean and from an unsprayed area before use on skin.
- Generally very gentle; rare allergy is possible.
- For a bite or sting with spreading redness, swelling, or trouble breathing, seek medical care.
📚 What others say
- A traditional 'first-aid weed' for bites and scrapes
- Long used to soothe skin, the throat, and the gut
Learn more
🕊️ A word of encouragement
The remedy underfoot, growing where we walk each day. Sometimes what we need has been beside us all along.
💬 Ask Remy about Plantain Leaf
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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