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Herb

Plantain Leaf

88/100
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A common lawn weed whose soothing leaf is traditionally used on bites, stings, and scrapes, and as a tea for coughs and the gut.

A bowl of dried ribbed green plantain leaves beside a ceramic teacup.⤢
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🌱 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

Bite-and-sting poultice: Pick and clean a fresh plantain leaf, crush or chew it to release the juices, and hold it on the bite or sting for relief.
Soothing tea: Steep 1 teaspoon dried plantain leaf in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes and sip for a cough or irritated throat.

🧺 Other forms of Plantain Leaf

These used to be pages of their own. They are the same remedy in a different form — the differences worth knowing are below.

PlantainHerb

A common healing leaf used as a poulticeMashed plant material applied right on the skin. How to make a poultice → for wounds, bites, and skin irritation.

How this form is used: Wrap a bruised, wet leaf around the affected area, or crush fresh leaves into a paste and apply as a poulticeMashed plant material applied right on the skin. How to make a poultice →, changing every few hours.

Cautions for this form
  • Only use leaves from areas free of pesticides or road runoff.
  • Discontinue if a rash or irritation develops; not a substitute for care of deep or infected wounds.

Natural Remedies Encyclopedia (7th ed.)

Shop dried plantain leaf on Amazon

Formerly its own page at /remedies/plantain, now redirected here.

⚠️ Cautions

  • Make sure leaves are clean and from an unsprayed area before use on skin.
  • Generally very gentle; rare allergy is possible.
  • Spreading redness, swelling, or trouble breathing after a bite or sting are signs of a reaction that go beyond what a poultice can help.

📚 Learn more

🩺 The conventional view

🔎 What this addresses

Where Plantain Leaf fits into a condition's cause-and-symptom picture — some conditions it works on the root cause of, others it mainly soothes.

Eases the symptoms of

For these, it calms the condition without addressing what drives it.

  • Eczema — A common traditional wound-and-skin herbA plant, or part of one, used for flavor, food, or gentle health support. More →, used crushed or as a salveA soothing herbal ointment for the skin. How to make a salve → on itchy, irritated patches; no eczema trials support it.

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📚 Resource confidence

Based on mentions in health references

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