Plantain Ointment

I made my first herbal ointment earlier this week. It's a plantain ointment. Plantain is a "weed" that grows in almost every untreated yard on the planet, from what I've read. Here's a picture:

This stuff grows everywhere. I picked some from our yard and put it in some warm olive oil for 5 or 6 hours and kept it hot on the stovetop (not boiling, just very very warm). Then I used the oil to make the ointment with some beeswax, Vitamin E and evening primrose oil.

It turned out pretty good for my first try. It's a little too hard, so next time I will use less beeswax. But it still works just fine.

Plantain can be used on bug bites, poison ivy, eczema, bleeding wounds, and most other skin problems.

I thought this would be a good place to start with herbs for two reasons: one, plantain grows in my yard, and two, it is a remedy for things that we almost always need a remedy for. It still amazes me that there are actually plants that grow wild that can be as good or better medicine than prescription/over-the-counter synthetic stuff. But I am an eager learner. Hopefully I will have more interesting herbal discoveries to share in the future.