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| used as a slimming aid. Externally, crushed pineapple can help to heal ulcers and slow-healing wounds, while the juice can also be used to tonify the skin. Gargling with the juice is a useful alternative for sore throats. |
| Plantain (Plantago Spp.) |
| Common plantain (P. major) is a familiar garden weed often found filling the cracks in paved patios and dominating lawns. The plant has long been regarded as an important healing herb; Pliny even suggests that if several pieces of flesh are put in a pot with plantain, they will join back together again. |
| Description: Common plantain is characterized by its rattail-like flower spikes and basal rosette of fleshy, rounded, or ovate leaves. It grows to around 6 inches in height and is commonly found in gardens and pavement cracks. Ribwort plantain (P. lanceolata) is taller, up to 24 inches, with more pointed, lance-shaped leaves with two to five prominent ribs. The flowers are dark rust with clear white, feathery stamens and appear from May to September. |
| Parts used: Leaves. |
| Actions: Common plantain is antibacterial, antihistamine, antiallergenic, astringent, blood tonic, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, styptic; ribwort plantain is anticatarrhal, antispasmodic, a relaxing expectorant, and tonifies mucous membranes. |
| Uses: Externally the leaves make a good emergency treatment for irritant insect bites, while internally, common plantain tea (made from 2 teaspoons of dried leaves to a cup of water) can be helpful for gastric irritations, irritable bowel, hemorrhoids, cystitis, or heavy periods. A tablespoon of plantain juice (made by pulping the leaves in a food processor) mixed with a teaspoon of honey is a soothing remedy for cuts and minor wounds. |
| Common plantain's close relative, ribwort plantain, is more likely to be found in the hedgerow. An infusion (2 teaspoons of dried herb |
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