Plantain....

                                                          Plantain : Plantago lanceolata
Youll know her by her parallel veined leaves, running from stem base to tip. Her leaves form a rosette, from the centre of which emerge flower spikes that form seedheads. She grows in lawns, where soil has been disturbed or compacted. Shes a soothing one indeed, her leaves crushed up or chewed and put on an insect bite give speedy relief, handily she often grows where bees harvest. She has a knack for healing skin inflammation, wounds, sores, scalds or burns, and excma. The seeds of plantain ( and Plantago major) were recovered from the stomachs of Tollund Man and Grauballe Man, iron age men dug from peat bogs of Denmark. Plantains are amongst the most ancient weeds from northern Europe.

 Ive had some plantain leaves infusing in olive oil for some 4 months (oops). I finally strained off the oil to make a salve with it. My 8/10 of a litre of infused oil went into the bowl of a double boiler setup, with three chopsticks to ensure against burning. Turned up the heat till water was boiling, and then gradually added 100grams of grated beeswax to the oil. I kept stirring until all the wax dissolved. Poured the mix into jars and lipbalm containers, and theres plantains lovely green soothing salve!