White Man's Footsteps

Today I want to write about one of my most valued plant friends, the plantain. Not the banana-like tropical fruit, but the humble broad-leaved inconspicuous low-to-the-ground plant under our feet. It is not native to North America but was brought over accidentally from Europe, presumably on shoes or clothing. The Native Americans called it white man's footsteps.They had it right not only because the white men (and presumably women) brought it to the new world, but also because it grows most happily where people walk. It loves compacted soil. What a good trait to have! Most plants would spurn that tough dirt. 

I don't think I even noticed plantain's presence in the outdoors until I began to study medicinal herbs, and then it immediately caught my attention. Its leaves are purely magical for any kind of skin ailment. I immediately started making healing salve with it, and though I often included other botanical healers like comfrey, St Johnswort, lavender, melissabalm, rue, tansy, winter savory and wormwood, I always knew the truth. It was the plantain that was the superlative healer in the salve. 

And it doesn't have to be made into salve to be useful. If you're on a walk in the woods, and unexpectedly run into a grove of nettle, just look down at the path to find some plantain, chew some up to a paste, and smear it on the nettle stings. It works immediately. 

I am not one of those people who are most attracted to showy flowers or dramatic growth forms or colors. Maybe it has to do with my Quaker heritage, and the focus on simplicity. There is just something about the humble plantain that tugs at my heart, inconspicuous as it may be to others. It does not draw attention to itself, except perhaps for the insects that notice its tall spindly seed spike in late summer. Yet it is doggedly persistent and quietly luxuriant along paths and roadsides where other plants spurn to grow. I've actually seldom seen it in the hospitable places that other plants prefer. It would probably not like growing in my garden unless it were on or very near a footpath that was used frequently. You don't see it where there is not hard tight soil. But in this age, we have lots of hard-packed soil, so I am always able to find plantain growing wild when I'm ready to make salve in the fall. I just go on a hike somewhere, and along the path , if there's enough sun, I'll find plenty of plantain.

It was only after I'd been using it for years that I discovered the leaves are not the only part of the plant that are a boon to humankind. The seedheads are where psyllium comes from! Psyllium that helps our digestive systems so well, and mine in particular. What a wonderful discovery to find that my friend plantain helps me on the outside and on the inside! It may be a relative of the native plantain that is grown for the seed, some variant that doesn't mind open field cultivation. A cousin, perhaps. 

So here's my toast to the humble plantain, a friend indeed.