This month, we're highlighting a common backyard weed: Common plantain. Originally from Europe, this overlooked plant has a list of surprising and helpful uses.
Name: Common plantain (Plantago major)
Native Range: Originally from Europe, but grows widely across the globe now, including across the US.
How to ID: The leaves are broad and oval, with wavy or toothed edges and grow in a circle around the base of the stalk (known as a basal rosette). Tall flower stalks grow from April to October. Perennial.
Traditional Use: Used as a folk medicine globally, particularly to treat bleeding, wounds, spider and insect bites. Recent research has found Common Plantain to be antimicrobial and antioxidant. The tender young leaves can be added to salads.
Fun Fact: A weed is a just a nuisance plant: something not typically considered useful or planted intentionally. Common plantain is a great example of a plant we often overlook but that can have a positive impact on our lives.
Learn more at our sources below.
Sources:
[1] Duke, James. A. and Foster, Steven. Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd Edition. Peterson, 2014. P. 102.
[2] Plantain, Broadleaf. Pennsylvania State Department of Plant Science. plantscience.psu.edu/outreach/plant-id/broadleaf/broadleaf-plantain. 14 Sept. 2026.
[3] Indiana Edibles. "Common Plantain." https://indianaedibles.wordpress.com/common-plantain/. 21 Sept. 2026.
