By: Hettie Basil Lighttower
Oh, Hello! You caught me reminiscing about dandelions from our discussion of last week….. Let’s move on to those little plants called “plantains”. There are two different types that grow most commonly here in West Virginia and throughout the United States. The first is broadleaf and the second is narrowleaf or ribbed plantain. Both are fabulous. The Ribbed Plantain is recognizable easily by its seed/flower. It puts up a very tall(approximately 5 to 6 inch) skinny stem that stands well above the grass and its own leaves. And at the very tippy top it was the seeds and flowers that resemble a little miniature pine cone! At first this pretend pine cone is green and then matures to a medium brown color. You know it as soon as you see it. And depending on the cycle of maturity the itsy-bitsy little white flowers may be visible popping out from all sides, kind of like a pretend halo!
This pine cone top is where the seeds exist. When the seeds mature, they are ready for harvest. Each little seed is covered with a tough hull ….called psyllium. Have you ever seen psyllium husks available for sale in the health food section? That is where they come from. What’s so great about that? That is what the fiber in Metamucil comes from. Now if you don’t have a “pipes/plumbing” problem and don’t need to take the extra fiber, you can always put it in your pipe and smoke it! That’s right! The leaves of ribbed plantain can be smoked as an expectorant and to assist anyone who is trying diligently to quit smoking. If you are rolling your own tobacco, add a little of the dried ribbed plantain leaves and increase it gradually in with your tobacco and it helps clean you lungs and to ween you off the smoking habit.
Now either type of plantain is good for creating a poultice for wounds to help heal the wound. Just simply mash up the leaves with a little water. A pestle and mortar works super. But if you are out on a hike and get a cut or minor injury or bug bite, you can actually put a leaf or two in your mouth and chew the leaf up into a soft mass and place it on to the area of skin needing to stop bleeding or hurting. Another use of either one of these plants’ leaves is to just simply eat them in a soup or salad. They are full of vitamins and minerals.
So, the next time you are about to call that chemical company to rid your lawn of all things not grass, try getting your root digger out and just pull up a good many of these necessary plants and place them into a specific flower bed where they are safe from the mower and and they can grow and thrive and do what they do best. You can harvest great benefits by actually keeping these guys around. And some folks will collect the seeds and leaves and put them in the blender with a little bit of water and then pour into ice trays and freeze. You can store them all winter long and have them when it’s not their season. You can use a cube in your stew or melt it for an injury!
And of course, violets and clovers both are edible and provide so many vitamins and minerals naturally. We have grown so accustomed to taking a pill that we have forgotten how to forage and take advantage of the land and what the plants have to offer. If you are getting your vitamins and trace minerals from the original plant-based source it is most proficient and easiest to digest and absorb in the most natural way.
Lastly, that other little purple flower called Purple False Nettle. It is not in the nettle family at all, but can be mis-identified as a nettle because of the shape of the leaves. But this little friend is great for combining it with beeswax, and oils to create a healing salve. One that heals the skin and most skin conditions. I have friends who do up a salve like this. They swear by it. I have never tried it. I plan to, however. Take notice to all these little things in your grass and see if you can’t make up a whole new little garden….a weed garden…. And be proud of it. Use it. Live by it. Heal by it.
As always, feel free to send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous let me know. Kindness is contagious~*