Witnessed by: Western · Unani
Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), of the Plantaginaceae family. Rosette perennial with narrow, strongly ribbed lance-shaped leaves and a short brown flower-head on a furrowed stalk; native range: Europe and temperate Asia; naturalised worldwide as a weed of meadows, lawns and waysides. Globally recognized as lisan-ul-hamal (لسان الحمل) in Arabic, and English plantain, narrowleaf plantain, ribgrass, lamb's tongue, waybread in English. The part used is leaf (and whole herb). Lance-shaped leaves drawn with three to five tough parallel ribs that string out when the leaf is torn; faintly bitter, astringent and green-tasting.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
RIBWORT PLANTAIN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Ribwort plantain
- Scientific name
- Plantago lanceolata L.
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
Form
- Part used
- leaf (and whole herb)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- astringent · bitter · mucilaginous
- Unani
- astringent · bland
Temperature
- Western
- cool
- Unani
- cold & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- lungs · mucous membranes · skin
- Unani
- intestines · lungs · kidneys
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- expectorant, demulcent, astringent, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory, anticatarrhal and mildly haemostatic
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-e-dam (styptic), mudammil (wound-healing) and musakkin (allays inflammation)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- generally very safe; rare allergy to plantain pollen
- Toxicity
- non-toxic
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