Urban Nature Pictures 4/18, 50 more urban species #10: broadleaf plantain.

[urbpan]

Broadleaf plantain. Plantago major

The more I tell the story, the more apocryphal it seems, but it's a good story: Supposedly the Native Americans called the plantains "white man's footprint" because wherever Europeans went, these weeds seemed to pop up. Their seeds were probably mixed in with cattle feed, and their roots tolerate the compact soil of footpaths. See also narrowleaf plantain.



Dandelions can adapt and renew
Seems like they grow best right under my shoe
King Weed by TMBG

Comments

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

i call poison ivy the human payback. it seems to thrive where man has been. it rarely seems to spontaneously growing in the middle of nowheres...

a shame we don't have miner's lettuce. looks tasty.

#

[cordelia-sue.livejournal.com]

This is one of my favorite everyday herbs. I make a tincture from it and use it for all manner of bumps and contusions. I've seen a developing goose egg on my kids' head barely even bruise after being treated with plantain. It works well for bee or wasp stings in a pinch too, which is handy, because it grows pretty much everywhere.

Random tidbit: psyllium seed husk, the insoluble fiber found in Metimucil, is from plantain. :)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

A close relative, anyway. I didn't know that!

[weofodthignen]

I'm much more familiar with this one than the narrowleaf. Cute little plant. Only problem with it is it crowds out grass, but as your herbalist friend says above, it's a major healing herb. It's A-S weg-brǽde, waybread.

M