Archive for 'plantain'

Tale of a Golden Foraging Opportunity

Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 10:05 pm  
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golden colorado hillside 254x350 Tale of a Golden Foraging Opportunity

Forager on a Golden hillside. Photo by Gregg Davis.

On our way home from Denver last Friday, Gregg and I made a detour up Golden Gate Canyon Road to check out a 93-acre ranch that Marilyn, who I met when she commented on a post, invited us to forage. (Actually, truth be told, I invited myself and she was generous enough to accept.) The canyon is breathtaking and so was her land, 93 acres of very steep hillside accessed by a potentially gnarly dirt road and then slowly through the cattle gate to where her family’s oasis is nestled.

She gave us a quick tour of the property, pointing out all the wild edible plants (even though I though that was my job), and then directed us up the hill. “Make a good hike of it,” she said, sending us on our way. 

Well, a “good hike” it certainly was—straight up, up, up, between the rocks, through the scrub, baking in the hot sun—and this after just completing three hours of skate camp in Highlands Ranch, also in the hot sun. So, for the first half of the hike (read: the up part), I was sweating profusely and frustrated with myself for my lack of excitement about the adventure, as I’d looked forward to it the entire week prior. It was all I could do to collect a few edibles while Gregg took photos. “We’ll come back when we’re less tired,” I said, trying to justify my attitude.  

But then, near the top of the hill in a ditch right before the well, something wonderful happened that snapped me right out of it: Gregg stuck his hand right into a patch of stinging nettles!  Read the rest of this entry

Plantain Seeds Can Lower LDL Cholesterol

Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at 11:15 am  
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plantain bruised foot 253x350 Plantain Seeds Can Lower LDL Cholesterol

Treating my wounded foot with crushed plantain.

Or so I read in “Wildman” Steve Brill’s book, Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places.  

The plantain to which I refer is of the genus Plantago, not to be confused with the banana-like fruit (Alisma species) that is good fried with brown sugar and cream. Plantagos include many different species and are common to lawns, fields, and disturbed areas. They were originally introduced to North America by early European settlers because of their medicinal qualities. Native people called them “the white man’s footprint” (Brill, 1994) because they are roughly footprint-shaped and seemed to spring up wherever the white man stepped.     

Noticing plantain in one my plant guides, my friend Olena from Ukraine exclaimed, “Where is that plant? I miss that plant!” before explaining how back home she would crush a leaf and apply it to a cut to stop the bleeding. 

“Externally, as a vulnerary, it sterilizes, reduces pain, promotes clotting and speeds healing” on account of the antihemorrhagic vitamin K, explain Kathryn G. and Andrew L. March in Common Edible and Medicinal Plants of Colorado. Simply bruise the leaves and apply to the injured area. Internally, they explain that an infusion of the leaves has been used by various cultures throughout history to treat coughs; urinary, gastric, and intestinal ills; and high blood pressure.  Read the rest of this entry