Since I have a little extra time these days (ahem), I decided to delve into an area of botany that I know very little about - the medicinal properties of herbs. So many things that are in regular rotation in my garden can be used to make all manner of healing ointments, tinctures, and poultices. This is medicine that has been practiced since the dawn of time. According to the University of Virginia, “the oldest known list of medicinal herbs is Shen Nung’s Pen Rs’ao or Shennong Ben Cao Jing (c.3000 BC), a Chinese herbal that is probably a compilation of an even older oral tradition.” The Chelsea Physic Garden, occupying four acres of land along the Thames, has grown medicinal plants since 1673. That’s where my plantain came from - seeds brought home with my mother many years ago from a visit to Chelsea Physic (she and my dad used to live near there in London), and planted in a rather neglected but sheltered spot in my North Garden.
Plantago major is easy to find in any meadow or even in urban locations. It belongs to the family Plantaginaceae which also contains foxgloves, speedwells, and snapdragons. It seems to have followed in the footsteps of men, which means it likes disturbed, lean soil. It doesn’t mind compaction and is tolerant of of foot traffic. Its flowers are wind-pollinated and its seeds can remain viable for 60 years. This is why plantain is considered a terrible weed, hated by many. I planted it on purpose, because it can be used to make medicine. Now I’m finally getting around to it! (By the way, the entire plant is also edible, with the leaves best when they are young and tender.)
As an herbal medicine, plantain is a good all-around plant for common burns, stings, and cuts. It can be used as a poultice; just chew the leaves into a mash and apply to affected area. It tends to slow bleeding, but it’s generally thought of as an herb to ‘draw out’ - that is, to draw out the poisons in a sting, or even to draw out splinters. I thought this would be a good ‘first try’ sort of salve, something that is thought of as all-purpose, and therefore a good thing to practice on. The first step is to collect the leaves, wash them, and then dry them thoroughly. This can be done in a dehydrator, or you can just hang the herbs to dry. Once dry, crumble them into a container and cover with olive oil (or almond oil).
Leave it to sit for at least two weeks, and every time you walk by it, just give it a little swirl or mild shake. After two weeks, you have a medicinal oil.
Use 1/4 cup melted beeswax for every cup of medicinal oil. Melting beeswax is a pain, but there is no other purpose for beeswax - it cannot be composted, so instead of throwing it out, this is a good thing to do with it (and the bees worked hard to make it!). We harvested a couple of bars of honey from the hive yesterday, and after draining out the honey, I put the comb (in pieces) in a square of doubled cheesecloth, then put that whole mess into a pot of simmering (not boiling!) water. [Side note: I have now dedicated an old pot and some mason jars for beeswax melting purposes - it’s a mess and you won’t want to use your regular pots for this.] After the beeswax melts into the water, you lift the cheesecloth out, which contains all the debris from the comb (mostly some larvae, sorry baby bees, and some dirt), and throw that out. Leave the pot to cool, and the wax will cool in a sheet on top of the water. After totally cool, lift that disc out and break it into pieces into a mason jar. Refill your pot with clean water and set the mason jar in it, sort of like a double boiler. Simmer the water until the wax in the jar melts. If you’re using storebought wax, you don’t have to do the whole cheesecloth thing - just melt the wax in a jar. It’s already been ‘filtered.’
Meanwhile, drain the medicinal oil, dump the spent plantain in the compost, and reserve the oil.
The oil smells just as it looks, grassy and green.
Put a cup of oil in with the 1/4 cup of melted wax, in the mason jar, which is in the simmering pot. Mix with a bamboo skewer or a stick, something disposable. Then pour into your jars/containers and let it cool before using. Store in a dark place, and it should last years.
I’ll give one of these little containers to Adam to use at work, whenever he gets a burn. I’ll send another to my brother-in-law Peter whose job includes lots of cuts/ouchies. Of course we’ll keep some for our own use, and I’ll let you know how we like it.
Next, I’d like to make some sort of salve for arthritis. Has anyone done something like this before, or do you have lots of knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs, and can give me a few suggestions on which plants to use? I’m thinking calendula, ginger, turmeric? Something like that. By the way, the website Mountain Rose Herbs has a great tutorial for making salves, if you don’t want to buy a book. This company is where I buy organic vanilla beans for my homemade vanilla extract, and I’m always pleased with their products.
