It’s fall here in the Midwest US, and that brings with it the yearly influx of wasps who swarm any open food containers you might to open outdoors, like trying to give the kids a snack or drink at the park.
So, what to do when someone forgets the adage of “Don’t bother them and they won’t bother you” and ends up sobbing over a burning sting or two?
This common yard weed is the miracle cure!
I know, I’ve mentioned plantain (not the banana-type) before.
But I thought I’d give you a better tutorial, so you can start using it with confidence that you’ve got the right stuff.
A rule of wild-crafting herbs (finding them growing in nature and using them) is to be VERY sure that you have the right plant.
Some poisonous plants can look similar to safe ones, like hemlock and wild carrots. Eeek!
Don’t worry about plantain, though. It is most commonly confused with dandelion – another yard weed that is edible, though it won’t help your mosquito bite much.
Here’s a quick lesson to identify plantain:
From the front:
- Left: Dandelion – notice the “toothed” edges of the leaf and the “branching” veins – you can eat it, but it won’t help your injury.
- Center: Plantain (Broadleaf) – smoother edges and parallel veins.
- Right: Plantain (Ribwort) – smooth edges and parallel veins.
Note: Either type of plantain can be used, so grab whatever grows commonly near you.
From the back:
Easier to see the parallel veins of the two types of plantain versus the branched veins of the dandelion on the left.
Other tips to identifying plantain
- Look for the skinny flower stalks poking up above the grass and waving in the wind.
- The leaves will be flat and low to the ground, spread around from the center of the plant.
- It loves disturbed ground, sidewalk cracks and lawns where there is decent water available.
What do I do with these green leaves I just picked out of my lawn?
- Smush them up into a green ball of mush
- Apply it to the injury.
It’s that simple.
It’ll start drawing out the venom, swelling or infection immediately.
I’ve seen a screaming kid calm down in a minute or two after putting plantain on a wasp sting. My daughter put a wad in her cheek overnight and her swollen gum was flat by morning. Amazing!
In the kitchen, you can smash it with a fork or mortar and pestle.
Ahead of time, take a whole bunch and run it through a food processor with a little water. Put the green mush in a sandwich baggie – flat in the freezer – for fast and cold applications.
Or if you’re outside with a screaming kid, rinse the leaf off with your water bottle, pop it into your mouth, chew and put the resulting green wad on with a bandaid. I find the screaming pain helps distract kids from the grossness factor. 🙂
Plantain is the “drawing” herb and is our go-to for anything that needs to be pulled out of the body: bug bites, stingers, pus, infections, and even slivers.
In a post-apoc scenario, it would be my go-to to prevent/treat wound infections when anti-biotics aren’t available.
Who knew that a weed you’ve been trying to eradicate from your lawn could be so valuable?
Let me know if you’ve used it before. Or, if you give it a try. I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Misty’s Writing Update:
23k into the second book in our Storm series, Steph and I keep struggling not to make our chapters too long.
The problem is we both enjoy BOTH the action scenes AND the character’s struggling with the apocalypse and each other . . . which makes for long chapters.
So, I thought I’d ask you guys.
What do you prefer reading?
- Long chapters
- short chapters
- I don’t really notice chapter length
And what about books?
- Short < 200 pages or so
- Average: 200-300 pages
- Long: 300 – 400 pages
- Epic: 400+ pages
- I like any length as long as the main story has a satisfying conclusion.
Looking forward to seeing what you think!
Happy reading this week,
— Misty 🙂
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