Leaves
Ribwort plantain
Plantago lanceolata L. · narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribwort · Polish: Babka lancetowata
Edible
How to identify it
- Leaves in a rosette, long, narrow, lance-shaped, with 3–7 parallel veins.
- Leafless flower stalks with 5 deep grooves.
- Flowers in a dense, short, brown spike (round to cylindrical).
- Flowers from May to September.
Where it grows
Meadows, lawns, pastures, roadsides, slopes and clearings.
In the kitchen and the home medicine cabinet
Fully developed leaves are gathered during flowering (May–September). Traditionally: home-made plantain syrup, a decoction, juice from fresh leaves; the same decoction is sometimes used externally for compresses and washes.
Caution Do not pick in the mountains or by the sea: very similar plantain species grow there that are hard for an inexperienced forager to tell apart, and the mountain plantain (Plantago atrata subsp. carpathica) and sea plantain (Plantago maritima) are strictly protected (regulation of 2014, Annex 1). Do not pick beside roads.
Frequently asked questions
When is Ribwort plantain in season?
In Poland, usually in May, June, July, August, September.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Babka lancetowata
- Rozporządzenie Ministra Środowiska z 9 października 2014 r. w sprawie ochrony gatunkowej roślin (Dz.U. 2014 poz. 1409)
Last checked: 9 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Write to us.
