I love Plantago Major. The benefits of eating platain are that it provides fiber, is reputed to remove toxins from the body such as heavy metal poisons in the intestines and is used internally as well as externally to remove poison.

I personally have ingested large amounts, such as eating it in salads in the summer for almost every salad, with no adverse side effects.. It has lots of vitamins and minerals too. Plantain is very rich in vitamin B1 and riboflavin.

I would recommend using the small immature leaves as they are more tender and less bitter then the large leaves. If you plan on using the large leaves, steam them first it makes them more palatable and tender.

Here's some links for more information:

www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php

www.altnature.com/gallery/plantain.htm (really good site)

I've eaten very small baby plantain leaves in salad with no ill effects.

Here's a very comprehensive page on plantain from the Internationa College of Herb Medicine:

www.herbcollege.com/herbofthemonth.asp

thanks to everyone!!!

The cure for a brown recluse bite: Soak the leaves of plantain in olive oil over night. The plantain major is best if you can find it because it has a larger surface structure than the lanceoleta variety. (They usually are found growing side by side!) Next, apply the leaves to the site of the wound. The pull of these leaves is great. It will also pull out snake venums, even splinters. Be sure to give the patient plenty of fluids, water. Bed rest might need to be immediate due to instant disorientation in some instances. Remember there is a lot of poison in the system with this bite. It is worse than a rattlesnake. You may choose to place a gauze over the site with the leaves on it but be careful when you place the tape. It must be far away as you can get it from the swelling. The swelling blister if pulled by the tape will burst and the poison will go right into the system, even causing gang green as it destroys the flesh. This bite if treated by medical personel will require surgery and skin grafts due to the damage it causes. The medical field has NO cure for this bite. They only wait until it is done destroying the flesh and they cut on it and remove flesh until the poison is done destroying.

But with plantain, It is really simple. KEEP THE LEAVES ON THE SITE UNTIL COMPLETELY HEALED. My husband was bitten twice by the same spider. Most times people receive multiple bites. They don't even know they are bitten until the swelling starts, 0 to 92 hour window. Always try to catch the spider for identification if you can.

My husband's first bite I dressed with the plantain for three days. When the leaves dry up they get curly and stiff. Just remove them and place new ones on the site. You will notice dramatic results as this thing goes away, but don't quit until it is completely gone.

My husband's second bite flared up just as the first bite was gone! No marks, scars, redness, nothing! It was as if there was absolutley no bite ever there! It was a miracle!

The second bite was tougher, not being on the trunk of the body. It was on his eyebrow. I put the leaves there, and made him GO TO BED! Because of the difficulty of treating the eyebrow area with the horrific swelling, I placed cottonballs instead of gauze over the site and then placed an eyepatch over the balls to hold them in place. I gave him a lot of water. He was delirious. I chased this thing all over his face for four days, and on the fourth day, it was completely gone.

My husband was 61 at that time, two years ago. He had the glow of a 12 year old. He was absolutely beautiful, due to the fact he was completely detoxed! He did not have one wrinkle anywhere and his face had the plumpness, beautiful peachy color, glow and clarity of a 12 year old boy!

If anyone is interested, I can tell you way way more about this incredible panacea plant. It truly is king of the herb family! Everyone must know about this plant! Don't kill it, share it! Cultivate it and keep it near, always.

I have currently been struggling with congestive heart failure and am searching for plantain in Utah. I know it will take away all the swellings an heal me.

Sheri Friis