Medicinal Monday... Robin's Plantain

Robin's Plantain is in the Aster family and is typically dismissed as a weed. Most people don't know that this "weed" has a long history as a healing plant often referred to as "nature's band-aid." Many native American communities found a variety of medicinal uses for this delicate flower.

About Robin's Plantain

This is a biennial, short-lived perennial wildflower that is widespread across much of the United States and can be found in Connecticut. Individual flower stalks give rise to a daisy-like flower that is a silvery light lavender color with a yellow eye. The flower blooms in May over a  dense carpet of grey-green fuzzy leaves that act like a tight ground cover. The leaves are toothed and the widest is toward the tip.  It can be found in rocky woodland, sand dunes, on the slopes of wooded bluffs, along the banks of rivers, and in forest clearings. It tolerates many different kinds of soil and prefers partial sun.

Medicinal Uses

The most common use of this plant is to make tea and drink it as a diuretic to help treat urinary problems. This plant is also used to treat a variety of ailments. For example, the Cherokee make a poultice of the entire plant and apply it to the temples to treat a headache. They also make a cold infusion of the roots and take it to treat colds and coughs. To make an astringent, they boil the entire plant and mixed it with tallow, and apply it to sores. It was also taken for poor sight and to stop bleeding. The Iroquois made a decoction from the roots and took it as a cold remedy. They also made a decoction of the entire plant including the flowers and drank it as an aid for tuberculous.

Did You Know...

Another name for Robin's Plantain is Lynhaven Carpet. It was named after Virginia Beach's Lynnhaven River where it was found by Charles Cresson.

Today, it is a favorite of groundcover for gardens because it tolerates a variety of conditions and is easily divided by its side roots. 

Its genus name is Erigeron means fleabane that refers to the superstition that dried clusters of flowers of this plant could be used to rid a dwelling of fleas.  The word pulchellus means beautiful, and this plant is one of the most attractive of the Fleabanes.