THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 105 
PLANTAGO IN MEDICINE. 
By Thos. Steel, F.L.S. 
The following note was sent in by Miss Manning, 
the plant being identified by Mr. A. A. Hamilton, as an 
introduced Planfago, but too imperfect for specific deter- 
mination : 
Quite recently a weed, Planta, was brought undér my notice, 
being used to cure a poisoned wound. The youngest child in the 
house where I was staying developed a poisoned toe, and as it 
was troublesome to poultice, his mother remembered the weed, 
and as I was most anxious to see the effect, she applied a leaf 
morning and evening for two days, when the wound was quite 
clean and only needed protecting. Later on an elder girl with a 
nasty wound on, the calf of her leg caused by a rusty nail had 
also the planta leaf applied for two or three days, and the same 
cure effected. The aboriginals had a way of stripping off the 
slightly hairy surface of ‘the leaf before applying to the wound, 
but as this had not been shown to my friend, the method used 
was, after leaving the leaf wither for a few hours, roll it tightly 
upon itself upper side in, then rub vigorously between the palms. 
On opening it out a somewhat sticky substance exudes which 
helps to glue it to the affected part. 
The planta weed is a very pale green, somewhat fleshy, and 
varies from two to five inches across, somewhat like the dock. 
The aboriginals used the leaves of a number of dif- 
ferent indigenous plants for the treatment of wounds, 
and if this plant, as Mr. Hamilton says, is an exotic, it 
would be most interesting if they have adopted its use 
All the European plantagos have more or less ribbed 
leaves, and amongst these P. major is the species to 
which medicinal properties are usually ascribed. 
P. major has large fleshy leaves bearing a dis- 
tinct resemblance to those of the dock. It is 
found in moist sheltered places in many localities 
throughout this State; thus I saw it growing luxuriantly 
a few weeks ago at Condong and Cudgen, on the 
Tweed River, and since then also at Wollongong. In 
this connection it is interesting to note that the seeds of 
P. ovata and P. ispaghula are largely used in India and 
elsewhere as demulcents, much as linseed and barley are 
also used. The seeds of the former species are included 
in the Pharmacopoeia of India. 
The plaintain has had a reputation for medicinal 
yirtues from very early times. Pliny, for instance, at- 
