How to Plant and Grow Plantain

Why would anyone bother to grow plantain?

Largely ignored by the modern gardener, and often regarded as an irksome weed, plantain is one of those overlooked and often ridiculed plants that actually has quite a lot to offer.

Once we learn to appreciate it, that is.

With edible nutritious leaves, medicinal value, and ecological importance, this plant is really worth a second look.

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Luckily, many gardeners are beginning to spread the word about the true value of this useful medicinal herb.

Commonly found growing in lawns and disturbed areas, once you learn to identify this herbaceous perennial, you will likely start noticing it everywhere.

There are about 200 species in the Plantago genus. The three most common varieties found in the US are broadleaf plantain (P. major), Rugel’s plantain (P. rugelii), and ribwort plantain (P. lanceolata).

All of these are known by many additional common names, and all are used in herbal medicine.

Broadleaf plantain is a compact perennial flowering herb that has low growing, egg-shaped, waxy green leaves with prominent veins. It’s also known as birdseed, broadleaf plantain, healing blade, and hen plant.

Said to have been brought to what is now the US by the Puritans, some Native Americans called it “white man’s footprint.” Foliage can grow to about six inches long and four inches wide.

In late summer, it produces a green, leafless stalk that rises above the leaves, with long, spiky clusters of tiny, densely packed greenish-brown flowers with purple stamens.

Named for 19th century German botanist