Two More Weeds That Have Gifts for Us

 I'm off to Maine to visit my daughter and her husband early tomorrow, so I'm getting off another post about beneficial weeds before I leave. We are in quite a drought here in eastern Iowa. I went out this morning to take pictures of Plantain and Burdock, and you can tell by the results that these plants would love some rain! However, even in their slightly wilted state they'll be recognizable to many of you. The first one below, Plantain, is one of my favorite plants. This is not the banana-like plantain that you may be familiar with, but a low-growing small plant that loves compacted soil. If you want to find some, just go to a path or trail where lots of animals or people walk. That's where they are happiest. Long ago I was taught that their leaves are a miracle skin-healer, and I've used them as the main ingredient in the healing salves I've made since then. I had thought they were just good for external use, but now I find that actually they are taken internally for a wide range of things! You can read up on this if you're interested in learning more, but here's a short list of benefits: it's anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory; good for colds, flu, congestion and sore throats; heals wounds, prevents stomach ulcers, regulates blood sugar, and delays early aging! Who knew? Yet probably I'll just keep using it for making salves for topical use. I know from experience that in this form, it works wonders. And the seed heads that are apparent at this time of year are the source of psyllium seed, that many of us take for digestion. What a plant!

Plantain

Then there's Burdock. There are many different varieties, some with much broader leaves than the one pictured below. Even though its root is commonly used as food all over the world, I must admit that I've just used it as medicine until now. Once it rains again (surely it will at some point!), I might dig a Burdock root up this fall and see how it tastes. Usually I've made a tincture out of the roots, and put a few drops in a glass of water to drink. Whatever the form you take it in, it has many benefits for humans. A few are: promotes a healthy gut, eases arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, has lots of antioxidants, and slows down or stops cancerous tumors from spreading. Again, if you're interested in knowing more, there are lots of links online to help.

Burdock

When I was a young woman in college, I wanted to be a doctor. But my advisor, I imagine thinking he was doing the right thing, told me it was not a workable ambition. Instead I should major in English or something less complicated because I would just get married and have children, and the education would be wasted. That was a long time ago, and probably no college advisor would get away with that now. However, disappointed that my dream seemed unworkable, I did drop out of college, got married and had children. But I also started learning about healing that can come from plants. One way or another, I had to find out about making people healthy and well. And what I've found is that using plants for healing is so much safer than using drugs! Of course, drugs are also good for things that are more severe. But learning about the rich sources of health-giving medicine growing all around us has been a treasured experience. No matter where you live, unless it's all concrete, these plants find a way of populating our world!