The image, above, shows the full ribwort plantain plant(Plantago lanceolata) whilst in flower, left. The young
plant with the most edible leaves is shown top, left and the seed
head with maturing seeds is shown bottom, right..
| Common Name: Ribwort Plantain |
| Scientific Name: Plantago lanceolata |
| Other Names: English Plantain, Rib-grass, Narrowleaf Plantain, Lamb's Tongue, Buckhorn |
| Family: Plantaginaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia. |
Physical Characteristics
Plantago lanceolata is a hardy Perennial plant, growing to 50cm (1 ft 8 in) by 20cm (8 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from April to August and the seeds ripen from June to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by wind, flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile and is a noted wildlife attractant.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Seeds |
 Edibility Rating: 2 
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 Known Hazards: None Known.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Ribwort Plantain along with all the Ribwort Plantain containing recipes presented on this site, with 2 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Ribwort Plantain as a major wild food ingredient.
The Ribwort Plantain, Plantago lanceolata (also known as English Plantain, Rib-grass and Narrowleaf Plantain) is a rosette-forming perennial herb, with leafless, silky, hairy flower stems that's a member of the Plantaginaceae (plantain) family of flowering plants that is native to Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia. It is characterized by basal leaves that are lanceolate spreading or erect, scarcely-toothed with 3–5 strong parallel veins narrowed to short petiole. Grouping leaf stalk deeply furrowed, ending in an oblong inflorescence of many small flowers each with a pointed bract. Each flower can produce up to two seeds. Flowers 4 mm (calyx green, corolla brownish), 4 bent back lobes with brown midribs, long white stamens. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
Typically ribwort plantain is not considered particularly good eating, as the leaves tend to be bitter and the fibrous ribs need to be removed before cooking. However, the very young leaves are better and much less fibrous. The seeds are also edible and they can be cooked like pearl sago. The seeds can also be dried and ground to make a form of flour that can be used as an adulterant to wheat flour when making breads, cakes, biscuits etc. The leaves (either fresh or dried) can also be made into an infusion for tisanes and other herbal remedies or can be used as a flavouring for teas.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Ribwort Plantain as a major wild food ingredient.
The Ribwort Plantain, Plantago lanceolata (also known as English Plantain, Rib-grass and Narrowleaf Plantain) is a rosette-forming perennial herb, with leafless, silky, hairy flower stems that's a member of the Plantaginaceae (plantain) family of flowering plants that is native to Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, northern and central Asia. It is characterized by basal leaves that are lanceolate spreading or erect, scarcely-toothed with 3–5 strong parallel veins narrowed to short petiole. Grouping leaf stalk deeply furrowed, ending in an oblong inflorescence of many small flowers each with a pointed bract. Each flower can produce up to two seeds. Flowers 4 mm (calyx green, corolla brownish), 4 bent back lobes with brown midribs, long white stamens. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
Typically ribwort plantain is not considered particularly good eating, as the leaves tend to be bitter and the fibrous ribs need to be removed before cooking. However, the very young leaves are better and much less fibrous. The seeds are also edible and they can be cooked like pearl sago. The seeds can also be dried and ground to make a form of flour that can be used as an adulterant to wheat flour when making breads, cakes, biscuits etc. The leaves (either fresh or dried) can also be made into an infusion for tisanes and other herbal remedies or can be used as a flavouring for teas.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Ribwort Plantain recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2 recipes in total:
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| Goosegrass and Wild Greens Soup Origin: Britain | Lemon Ribwort Plantain Seed Pudding Origin: Britain |
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