Photo by lemonsnapp on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Broadleaf plantain
Plantago major
- When
- Typically April – October — April, May, June, July, August, September, October. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Lawns, paths, driveways and trampled ground — it thrives on exactly the compacted soil nothing else likes.
- How to know it
- A flat rosette of broad oval leaves with five or more deep parallel veins running end to end, and a narrow greenish flower spike. Tear a leaf slowly and the veins pull out as tough strings.
- Look-alikes
- Ribwort plantain is narrower-leaved and used the same way. Young foxglove rosettes are superficially similar and very poisonous — foxglove leaves are soft, downy and net-veined, never parallel-veined and stringy.
- Harvest and use
- Very young leaves cooked as a green; older ones are stringy. Better known as the field poultice for stings and scrapes.
- Caution
- Do not pick from lawns that may be treated, from roadsides, or from anywhere dogs are walked.
Traditional medicinal use
Traditional use onlyWhat Broadleaf plantain has been used for
The tradition
The classic field poultice across Europe and North America for stings, bites, nettle rash and small cuts — the first thing many people learn.
Part used, and how
Fresh leaf, crushed or chewed and applied to the skin.
What is actually known
Laboratory work supports anti-inflammatory and wound-healing activity; the specific field use has not been tested in trials.
Documented traditional use, but little or no clinical testing. Historical use is not evidence of effect or of safety.
Before you use it
- External use on small, clean injuries only. A deep, dirty or spreading wound needs proper care.
- Do not use on a puncture wound or anything that might be infected.
- Anaphylaxis after a sting is a medical emergency — call for help, do not reach for a leaf.
This is a record of traditional use, not medical advice, and nothing here is a treatment for any condition. Wild plants interact with prescription medicines and several are unsafe in pregnancy or with kidney, liver or heart conditions. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any of them — especially if you take regular medication — and never delay real medical care.
Found in these regions
- Boreal North & Taiga
- Boreal Forest & Shield
- Acadian Forest & Atlantic Coast
- Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
- Northeast Atlantic Coast & Piedmont
- Appalachian Highlands
- Central Hardwoods & Interior Plateaus
- Southeastern Piedmont & Coastal Plain
- Gulf Coast & Mississippi Lowlands
- Florida Peninsula
- Prairies & Great Plains
- Western Mountains & Interior Plateaus
- Pacific Maritime
- Mediterranean California
- Deserts & Dry Basins
- Hawaiʻi & the Tropics
Hardiness zones 3–10.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.