Alpine Plantain

(Plantago alpina L. and P. serpentina Al I., Plantaginaceae).

Description: Perennial plants, 5-25cm (2-1 Oin) high with fusiform roots and with leaves in a basal rosette.
Leaves narrow, linear or lanceolate, 3-20cm (1-8in) long and 2-5mm (0.07&-0.2in) broad, hairy, margin entire or indistinctly dentate; with 3 longitudinal veins.
Flowers small, indistinct, brownish; arranged in a cylindrical inflorescence, 1-4 cm (0.4-1.5in) long, at the apex of a long stalk; corolla tips protruding, white.
Seeds small, blackish-brown, sticky when damp.
Flowering: July-August.

Parts Used: Dried flowering plant; rarely also the dried leaves and the ripe seeds.

Habitat and Collection: Alpine plants found at altitudes of 1,200-2,500m (3,900-8,100 ft) in pastures and on roadsides.
An excellent forage plant.
Collected when in flower and rapidly dried, either in shade or sunlight.
The seeds are collected when mature (September-October) on a dry day.
The plants are not found in Britain.

Constituents and Action: The active principles of the herb are similar to those of ribwort.
It is regarded as resolutive for coughs.
The seed, rich in mucilage, has a regulating action on the intestine.

Usage: The plant in a tisane (0.5 litre (1 pt) of cold water on 1 tablespoonful of drug, boil for 3 minutes and allow to stand) for bronchitis.
The seeds are used (allow 1-3 teaspoonfuls to swell for 2-3 hours in half a tumbler of cold water) as a mild purgative in the same manner as linseed.
The drug may also be used as an antidiarroeal.