Common Plantain (Plantago Major) - The flowers of Common Plantain are shaped like small green cabbage heads. Plants grow 12 inches tall when in full bloom and are easily grown from herb seeds. The foliage is low growing and green. The name 'Rosularis' means rose-like referring to the look of the flower heads which are shaped like double roses. Common Plantain will self-seed readily by dropping its seeds and forming new Plantain herbs the following spring. Other names for this herb are Greater Plantain and Rat Tail Plantain.

The young, tender leaves of the Common Plantain plant are edible, and can be used as a salad green of cooked and eaten like spinach. The taste is that of very bitter salad greens with a lingering aftertaste not unlike spinach. Plantain herb plants had historical medicinal use as a wound healer and snakebite remedy, and today the Plantain herbs have been found to have scientific merit. The Common Plantain plant is also enjoyed by butterfly larvae and if allowed to seed, birds eat the dried seeds.

How To Grow Common Plantains: In a prepared seedbed, sow the Plantain seeds directly outside in the early spring. Lightly cover the herb seeds with soil and keep moist.

English Plantain (Plantago Lanceolata) - English Plantain is a perennial herb that has been used since ancient times as a medicinal herb. It grows easily from Plantain seeds and is also referred to as Ribwort Plantain. The leaves are lance-shaped and ribbed. The flowers are a dense brown spike that are rather inconspicuous. The English Plantain plant was a common forage for sheep and was often planted in pastures. It grows where little else will.

Throughout history, English Plantain herb was used as a medicinal herb. The leaf juice was used to cleanse and heal wounds, to treat high fevers, and to help lung congestion. In modern day it is used for inflammation of the throat and for skin inflammations. It is rich in vitamin B1 and riboflavin. As a culinary herb, the Ribwort Plantain plant is eaten raw in salads or cooked as a pot herb.

How To Grow English Plantains: Plant English Plantain seeds directly outside after danger of frost has passed. Grow the herb seeds in a sunny location or in partial shade. The foliage grows larger when given some shade. It is a very hardy plant that withstands mowing and foot traffic.