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Herban Living -  Plantain
by Candace Liccione 

As heard on Inspired at Home Radio - June 14, 2009!

Plantain. I'm sure that everyone who doesn't use pesticides in their lawn has many of these wonderful herbs growing everywhere. Plantain is a skin and respiratory herb. You can gather  plantain leaves right out of your yard - but only if you don't use any chemicals in your yard -- and make wonderful skin salves and ointments that treat insect bites, spider bites, hives, poison oak and poison ivy and wounds. Plantain reduces the swelling and itching as well as drawing out toxins from the body from spider bites and bee stings. Plantain also makes a wonderful compress for skin ailments and bug bites. Many studies have been done on plantain and they show that it is a powerful antitoxin, anti-inflammatory, and expectorant herb. These qualities make it an excellent respiratory herb for inflammations of the mouth and throat. The parts used are the flowers, leaves and seeds to make compresses, tea, tinctures, salves and ointments. >>Candace

Here's a Basic Plantain Skin Salve Recipe

¾ cup of fresh plantain leaves
½ cup of fresh sage leaves
1 cup of almond oil
3 tablespoons of grated beeswax
 ½ teaspoon of Tincture of benzoin, or honey or vitamin E oil

Let fresh herbs wilt a few hours or overnight to release moisture. The easiest way to make a salve is in a crock pot. (You can also use a double boiler or place in the oven if you don’t have a small crock pot.) Place herbs into almond oil and heat in crock pot for 2-3 hours with lid on pot.  Strain herbs out of the oil using cheesecloth or coffee filters in metal hand-held  colander over a glass bowl.  Reheat oil and add beeswax and then tincture of benzoin. Test consistency by placing a spoonful of oil mixture into the refrigerator for a few minutes. If thick enough, pour into salve containers or if not thick enough add a little more beeswax to thicken.  Write a label for the salve with type of salve, ingredients and date made. Use on any skin problems. ~

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