Wild Food Foragers of America - Plantain Page 1

Vol 1, No 4
Page 1

Plantain (Plantago spp.)
Family: Plantain (Plantaginaceae)

August/September 2003

Plantain (the plant, not the banana) can be found everywhere in the world, usually on the side of the road and along paths, and is easy to identify by its predominant leaf veins, which run parallel from the base to the tip of the leaf. The flower spikes rise straight up out of the basal rosette, and remind me of an incense stick dipped in glue then rolled in large millet seeds. In some species, these seeds are used commercially to produce the mucilagenate substance used in laxatives, like Metamucil ®, called psyllium. Other species are used commercially for various medicinal purposes, since all varieties share the same basic healing properties. When very young, the leaves can be eaten raw, usually in combination with other greens, and older leaves can be cooked like spinach, sauteed in garlic butter, chicken broth, or however you cook greens. The taste is kind of neutral, but they're full of chlorophyll, vitamins and minerals, and of course, fiber.

Plantain grows from a tiny rhizome, and transplants easily. You can scatter the seeds in your yard, too. It is somewhat invasive but its root is shallow so it is easily controlled by weeding. It looks nice in the garden. In all its parts, a nice addition spring through late summer to your organic wild weeds diet.

Plantains are members of the Plantain family (Plantaginaeae) which botanists estimate contain between 270 species divided in 3 genera distributed throughout the world. Some have long narrow leaves, some have short round leaves, but all have the tell-tail veination so easy to spot, the predominant veins each starting at the base of the leaf stalk and ending at the leaf tip, and thin seed stalks rising vertically (above photos) from the basal rosette. What's a basal rosette? It's where all the leaves come out directly from the base, like spokes on a wheel. There is no trunk, no branches. Lots of weeds grow this way.


Parallel veination of leaf	Basal Rosette	Stem strings

When you break open a stem, you'll see 4 or 5 elastic-y strings, (see photo above). They're not quite sturdy enough for dental floss (yes, I've tried), and they cook down soft and juicy, not like celery strings.

In this issue, we'll learn how to incorporate these greens into your routine, and how to test the seeds to see if they're the kind that produce a laxative. Plantain doesn't freeze well unless it's first blanched, but it's growing season is so long you can pick it fresh for half the year. In fact, we just returned from 2 weeks driving along the back roads of North Carolina and Virginia (late August), and the plantain there is still young and hasn't produced seed stalks yet, while ours, further south, has been in full seed production since June.

Identification, Harvest and Preparation:
ID tips, slide show and colorful photos are on Page 2, linked to below.

History, Botanical info, and Recipes: on Page 3, linked to below.

Information Exchange : Subscribers and visitors, please add your knowledge of this weed here--recipes, experiences, anecdotes, questions, opinions. (A unique thread is posted with every issue to gather more information. Please do check out our Wild Edibles Info Exchange.

Archived issues: Thistles, Chickweed, Spiderwort, Wild Green Onions , Plantain, Elder, Hawksbeard, Wild Green Onion, Wood Sorrell. Dock, Hedge Nettle are in progress. Sign up for notice when the next issue comes out.

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Thanks, and enjoy!

Standing knee deep in abundance!

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Disclaimer:

Information given in the newsletter is educational but should not be considered definitive. Every effort is made to present clear testimonials from personal experience, however, different people may have different reactions than the author's experience. The author makes no attempt to identify every plant. If you choose to eat weeds, start out with a small amount and notice your reaction. Considerable effort is made to provide readers access to additional materials for the positive identification, harvesting and preparation of wild edible weeds, BUT you are ultimately responsibe for your own education, actions and diet.
To avoid poisonous look-alikes, foragers should always identify by SEVERAL indicators (by leaf, flower, seed pod, root and stem, by shape, texture, veination, color, hairiness, growth pattern, season, etc.) before eating from the wild. Different plants might look very similar to the untrained eye.
You should not pick weeds in polluted areas--along roadsides, near trash dumps, in fields or gardens likely to have been sprayed with pesticides or commercial fertilizers, etc.
You should not over-pick. The general rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 20% of an area, leaving the plants ample opportunity to regenerate for the next year, the next generation, and leaving something behind for the next forager. Becoming familiar with propagation methods can assist you in determining the most prudent conservation techniques for each plant.
You should always wash weeds before eating them. Dust is everywhere, insects and slugs naturally make their homes in vegetation, and birds do fly overhead! Let common sense be your guide.
Do not hesitate to call a doctor if you should have an adverse reaction to anything you touch or ingest in the wild. If you can bring the physician a sample, or identify the offending plant by name, all the better.