Effect:
blood purifying, healing, cooling, cough-relieving, diuretic, astringent, dividing, antibiotic
Areas of application:
Cough, bronchial mucus, to strengthen the lung tissue in heavy smokers, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, to purify the blood, for rashes, weak stomach, anorexia, weak connective tissue, anemia, diffuse stomach problems, injuries, bruises, open wounds, severe headaches, unpleasant itching Insect bites and gelatinous stings, swelling, bruises, goiter, blisters on the feet
(Broad plantain - painful feet, inflammation all over the body, sore nipples, toothache, headache, earache, neuralgia, bed-wetting, has a particularly high number of antibiotic ingredients)
Plant parts used:
young leaves, roots, seeds
Collection time:
May to September
The best remedies come from the leaves and roots collected around August 15th.
To find:
Everywhere in the meadows, roadsides, forest edges and rubble dumps.
Ingredients:
Mucilage, aucubin, catapol, tannin, emulsin, bitter substances, resin, tannins, rennet enzyme, silica, chlorophyll
Miscellaneous:
☕Tea: 2 teaspoons of the leaves are brought to the boil with 1/4 liter of cold water and strained after 5 minutes. The freshly prepared tea, sweetened with honey, is drunk 3 times a day.
Ribwort plantain is a perennial plant and can grow to a height of between 5 and 50 cm. The root is richly branched and can reach up to 60 cm into the ground. The upright leaves form a basal rosette, with each individual plant usually forming several of these rosettes. The leaf blades are narrow-lanceolate, tapering at the end and they are sessile and simple. The leaves have entire margins or have single, flat teeth. A dense, cylindrical, spiked inflorescence stands on a long, 5-furrowed, more or less hairy shaft that is about twice as long as the leaves. Ribwort plantain has small, inconspicuous flowers. The flower corolla consists of four fused petals, a bare corolla tube and four bent-back, brownish, lanceolate to egg-shaped corolla lobes. The flowering period is from May to September.
Ribwort plantain can be used completely in the kitchen. The leaves, flower buds and seeds can also be eaten raw. The whole plant tastes mushroom-like, with the flower buds having the most flavor. The leaves taste good in salads, as spinach, soups, herb butter or as a vegetable and the flower buds go well in a salad or steamed. The buds can also be soaked in vinegar water or like capers.
The ancient, Germanic medicinal plant already has the meaning “way ruler” in its name. She is the symbol of fertility. In the Nine Herb Blessing, plantain is named second, right after mugwort. As an oracle, plantain reveals the sins of the individual. You should treat the plant carefully, otherwise you will commit a sin. This is where the belief in the powerful medicinal and magical plant continues to have an effect.
If you want to stop smoking, you can try drinking tea or fresh ribwort plantain juice once a day and treating it homeopathically.
Tea for breathing
You can drink ribwort plantain tea against coughs, asthma and other respiratory diseases. Either as pure ribwort plantain tea or in tea blends. The usual daily amount is 5 grams. The ribwort plantain leaves loosen mucus, act against pathogens and relieve inflammation.
Leaves for dermatitis/eczema/wounds
Mix about 5 grams of dried leaves in 150 ml of cold water, bring this mixture to the boil briefly and strain/filter. You make compresses with this “tea” several times a day by moistening a linen cloth/gauze bandage and placing it on the affected area.
Leaves for laryngitis (inflammation of the larynx), pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat) and tracheitis (inflammation of the windpipe)
Ribwort plantain tea Preparation: Pour about 5 grams of finely chopped dried leaves with 150 ml of hot water and let it steep for 5 minutes. Strain/filter and drink slowly several times a day. Ribwort plantain leaves can be combined with marshmallow root and Icelandic moss to increase the effectiveness of the tea.
Leaves for minor injuries on the go
The ribwort plantain is the best medicine for on the go, growing right on the side of the road if you have injured yourself while hiking. Simply rub or chew a clean plantain leaf between your fingers, place it on the wound and secure it with a second plantain leaf. After a while you can replace the used ribwort plantain with a new one. Blood is stopped and the wound is disinfected, the healing process is promoted.
Plant sap for wounds
When you're not out and about, you can use the leaves to make a plant sap that you can drip onto wounds.
The plant sap helps against abrasions, minor burns, small open wounds, insect bites, bruises, boils and hemorrhoids.
Plant sap for digestion and metabolism
The freshly squeezed plant juice can be taken against indigestion. Fresh plant pressed juice, pressed juice and fluid extract are also available to buy ready-made.
It helps with intestinal inflammation, stomach pain and regulates digestive activity.
Roots for toothache
If you have a toothache, chew a fresh ribwort plantain root.
Seeds for thrush
The seeds of the ribwort plantain can be soaked in water and then brought to the boil. They can be given externally to infants against thrush (candidiasis).
The plantain seeds can be dried and have a gentle laxative effect, just like linseed.
Hildegard von Bingen: Anyone who is plagued by stinging should boil the leaves in water, squeeze out the water and place them on the area where it hurts. The stinging will go away. But if a man's bone is broken, let him cut the root into honey and eat it daily on an empty stomach. And let him boil the leaves with water and lay them warm on the broken place, and it will heal.