Greater Plantain

Plantago major

Plant Data

Order:

Lamiales

Family:

Plantaginaceae (Plantain)

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flowers:

Dense green spikes of up to 20cm, on unbranched, unfurrowed stalks. Anthers are purple and yellow.

Fruit:

A glossy, grey, ovate capsule.

Leaves:

Round, bright green, unlobed, tough leaves formed in a basal rosette. The leaf veins run parallel with the midrib.

Maximum Size:

40cm tall.

Foraging Notes:

The young leaves can be eaten either raw or cooked. Cooking is advisable to make them more tender. The leaves can also be dried and used to make tea. The seeds can also be eaten, raw or cooked. The roots are edible too. Large amounts may cause diarrhea or a drop in blood pressure. High in vitamins A, B1, C and K, and high in calcium.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Other Names:

Birdseed, Broadleaf Plantain, Common Plantain, Cuckoo's Bread, Doorweed, Dooryard Plantain, Englishman's Foot, Grand Plantain, Great Plantain, Healing Blade, Hen-plant, Large Plantain, Patrick's Dock, Rat-tail Plantain, Ripple Grass, Roundleaf Plantain, Snake Plant, Snakeweed, Waybread, Waybroad, White Man's Foot.

Habitats:

Farmland, gardens, grassland, lawns, moorland, roadsides, towns, wasteland.