Ribwort Plantain - Plantago lanceolata
- Family: Plantain (Plantaginaceae family) [E-flora]
Description
- Synonyms
- Plantago altissima auct. non L. [E-flora]
- Plantago lanceolata var. sphaerostachya Mert. & W.D.J. Koch [E-flora]
Origin Status:
Exotic [E-flora]
General:
Perennial herb from a short, stout, erect stem-base and taproot with secondary fibrous roots, the stem-base somewhat brown woolly-hairy; stems erect, few, simple, finely grooved, short stiff-hairy, 15-45 (60) cm tall.[IFBC-E-flora]
Leaves:
Basal leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, smooth to long-hairy, 3- to several-veined, 10-35 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, stalked, entire; stem leaves lacking.[IFBC-E-flora]
Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense bracteate spikes, the spikes more or less egg-shaped, becoming cylindric, 1.5-8 cm long, almost 1 cm thick; corollas greenish, 4-lobed, the lobes 2-2.5 mm long, spreading or reflexed; bracts widely egg-shaped, more or less equal to the sepals, thin, pointed; sepals next to the bract united; stamens conspicuous, yellow.[IFBC-E-flora]
The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind, flies, beetles. The plant is self-fertile. [PFAF]
Fruits:
Capsules, narrowly egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long; seeds 2, rarely 1, ellipsoid, shining, blackish, minutely roughened, 2-3 mm long, deeply concave.[IFBC-E-flora]
Habitat & Range
Habitat: Mesic to dry lawns, fields and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones. [IFBC-E-flora]
"Grassland, roadsides etc, a common weed of lawns and cultivated ground, on neutral and basic soils[9, 17]." [PFAF]
Range: common in SW BC, infrequent N along the coast and E in BC; introduced from Eurasia. [IFBC-E-flora]
"Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia." [PFAF]
Edible Uses
- Young Leaves: "Young leaves - raw or cooked[12, 46, 61]. They are rather bitter and very tedious to prepare, the fibrous strands are best removed prior to eating[9, 183]. The very young leaves are somewhat better and are less fibrous[K]." [PFAF]
- Seeds: "Seed - cooked. Used like sago[177, 183]. The seed can be ground into a powder and added to flours when making bread, cakes, etc."[PFAF]
Other Uses
- Fabric Stiffener: "A mucilage from the seed coats is used as a fabric stiffener[4]. It is obtained by macerating the seed in hot water[100, 115]."[PFAF]
- Fibre: "A good fibre is obtained from the leaves[4], it is said to be suitable for textiles[115]."[PFAF]
- Dyes: "Gold and brown dyes are obtained from the whole plant[168]."[PFAF]
Medicinal Uses
- Aerial Parts:
- Indications: Common cold, Cough/bronchitis, Fevers and colds, Inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, Inflammation of the skin [PDR]
- Folk Use: In folk medicine, the pressed juice of English Plantain is used internally for conditions of the respiratory tract, cystitis, enuresis, liver disease, stomach cramps, diarrhea and as a diuretic.[PDR]
- Externally the plant is used for wounds, furuncles, conjunctivitis and as a hemostyptic.[PDR]
- Harvesting: The medicinal parts are the dried leaves, the dried herb and the fresh plant. English Plantain herb consists of the fresh or dried above-ground parts of Plantago lanceolata, harvested at flowering season (May to September) and dried quickly at 40 to 50° C.[PDR]
- Preparation: To make an infusion, pour boiling water over 2 to 4 gm cut drug (or put in cold water brought to a boil) and strain after 10 minutes (1 teaspoonful = approximately 0.7 gm drug).
- Daily Dosage: The average daily dose is 3 to 6 gm of herb. Tea—1 cup of freshly made tea to be drunk several times a day.[PDR]
- Leaves: "The leaves contain mucilage, tannin and silic acid[244]. An extract of them has antibacterial properties[240]. They have a bitter flavour and are astringent, demulcent, mildly expectorant, haemostatic and ophthalmic[9, 13, 21, 145, 165, 222, 244, 254]." [PFAF]
- "Internally, they are used in the treatment of a wide range of complaints including diarrhoea, gastritis, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, haemorrhage, haemorrhoids, cystitis, bronchitis, catarrh, sinusitis, asthma and hay fever[238, 254]." [PFAF]
- External Use: "They are used externally in treating skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, cuts, stings etc[4]. The heated leaves are used as a wet dressing for wounds, swellings etc[213, 222]. The root is a remedy for the bite of rattlesnakes, it is used in equal portions with Marrubium vulgare[207]." [PFAF]
- Stings: User Comment; "Ribwort is the best first aid remedy I know of for bee and wasp stings. Pick a leaf or two, crush or chew, and rub on the sting site until it stops hurting. Usually the pain will not return, and you will only notice an itching after a few days as it heals. This also helps relieve the itching of mosquito bites."[PFAF]
- Poultice: "Ribwort/common plantain is a safe and effective treatment for bleeding, it quickly staunches blood flow and encourages the repair of damaged tissue[254]."[PFAF]
- Eye lotion: "A distilled water made from the plant makes an excellent eye lotion[7]."[PFAF]
Pharmacology
- "Liquid extract and the pressed juice of fresh Plantain herb have a proven bactericidal effect. The aucubigenin (hydrolised acubin) and an antimicrobial saponin are believed to be responsible for the antibacterial effect. In addition, acceleration of blood clotting has been demonstrated and a possible epithelization effect has been mentioned." [PDR]
Phytochemicals
- [Leaves,Herb,Plant]
- Iridoide monoterpenes (2-3%): chief components are aucubin (rhinantin) and catalpol as well as asperuloside [PDR]
- Mucilages (2-6%): glucomannans, arabinogalactane, rhamnogalacturonane [PDR]
- Flavonoids: including among other chief components apigenine-6,8-diglucoside, luteolin-7-glucuronide [PDR]
- Caffeic acid esters: chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, acteoside (verbascoside) [PDR]
- Tannins [PDR]
- Hydroxycoumarins: aesculetin [PDR]
- Saponins (traces) [PDR]
- Silicic acid [PDR]
- Allelochemicals of P. lanceolata have an active role in a suppression effect on soil N mineralization. [IEPL]
Cultivation
"Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure." [PFAF]
"Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[200]. Plants also succeed in very poor land[4]. An important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies[30]."[PFAF]
"Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer. A sowing can be made outdoors in situ in mid to late spring if you have enough seeds."[PFAF]
References
[E-flora]http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Plantago lanceolata&redblue=Both&lifeform=7, [Accessed: 9/18/2014]
[2] Personal Observation and notes. http://www.phytoday.org
[3] , http://www.Theplantlist.org, Accessed on April 23, 2014.
[IEPL] Inhibitory effects of Plantago lanceolata L. on soil N mineralization, Marko Dietz , Susanne Machill, Herbert C. Hoffmann and Knut Schmidtke, Plant and Soil, 07/2013, Volume 368, Issue 1
[PFAF] Plantago lanceolata, http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Plantago+lanceolata, Plants for a future, Accessed September 18, 2014
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