Spearwort – Plantago lanceolata

Description of spearwort:

Plantago lanceolata lanceolata lanceolata (Old or other names: narrow-leaved plantain, spear-leaved plantain, spear-leaved plantain, snake-tongue plantain) Narrow-leaved plantain or lance-leaved plantain is a perennial plant, if its roots often sprout, but it is not long-lived, living for 1-2 years at most and dying, and is more common in larger plants most of it is only annual. It reproduces from seed, the young plants flower immediately and in the second year few green shoots appear. Its roots are brownish and more or less straight down into the ground. The stems are very short, so that the leaves are all erect, forming a rosette of leaves. The leaves are tongue-less, tapering towards the base, with entire or only very slightly toothed margins, lanceolate and glabrous or very short-haired. The short stalk is borne on a leafless peduncle, which is longitudinally highly grooved and bears small, tongue-less flowers forming a dense willow flower at the top. The corolla is spherical to elongated. The flowers are surrounded by tiny, smooth blue leaflets, or crumbs. The flower has a four-parted vomiting calyx, a further four-parted brownish-white colour and a pair of dry vomiting calyxes, within which are 4 stamens and a reddish-coloured pistil. The stamens are yellowish-white, protrude far from the flower and give the open corymb a pale yellow colour. Spearwort flowers from April to September.

Occurrence:

Spearwort is found in meadows, pastures, grassy places, roadsides and fields, and in fallow places, and is a common weed in many places throughout the country.

The medicinal properties and uses of spearwort:

Spearwort provides a wide variety of home remedies, and its leaves are sought after in the herb trade. The leaves are used to make tea, which is used as a stomach and blood purifier and to treat coughs; the leaves are also used to make plantain candies; the sap of the freshly crushed leaves is used to treat wounds. Its dried leaves are sold under the name herba plantaginis lanceolatae, but are not mentioned in the official herbal pharmacopoeia.

Active ingredient:

Its active substances are not further specified.

Cultivation:

As the wild quantity is sufficient to meet demand, cultivation is unnecessary. It is propagated by means of seeds that drop out.

Harvesting:

The leaves of spear plantain should be harvested at flowering (between the months of May and June). When picking, make sure that the leaves are clean and not dusty or muddy; dirty ones should be cleaned. Clean leaves should be dried quickly to preserve their green colour. Therefore, they should be dried either in the sun or in a ventilated attic and turned carefully. 4 kg of fresh leaves will produce 1 kg of dry leaves. Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic herbs, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses Béla Páter, Wild medicinal plants, their production, use and distribution