Lanting
Plantago major · Broadleaf plantain
- Names in the book
- Llantén, Sp.-Fil.; Lantín, Tag.; Plantain, Eng.
- Colours
- flowergreen, brown
- Native range
- Europe and northern and central Asia
- Family
- Plantaginaceae, filed in the book under Plantaginaceæ
- Printed as
- Plantago erosa, Wall. (P. crenata and media, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 199 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The book prints Plantago erosa and lists Blanco's names under it. The Philippine lanting is Plantago major.
The plant today
Plantago major, the greater plantain, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Eurasia and temperate Africa, and widely naturalised elsewhere. Greater plantain is not closely related to the fruit also known as plantain, which is a type of banana.
Excerpt from “Plantago major” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 18 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 2 provinces: Benguet (4), North Cotabato (3).
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The leaves of this popular plant are the commonest remedy in the Philippines for abscess of the gums. They are bruised and applied with a little lard over the swollen cheek. It is emollient and, in decoction, is used as a substitute for flaxseed.
Botanical description
This plant is so universally known that there is no fear of confusing it with others. It flourishes as a common weed in the U. S. as well as the Philippines.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Antimicrobial and Other Biomedical Properties of Extracts from Plantago major, Plantaginaceae
- Evaluation of anti-inflammatory effects of leaf and seed extracts of Plantago major on acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats
- Therapeutic Efficacy of Great Plantain (Plantago major L.) in the Treatment of Second-Degree Burn Wounds: A Case-Control Study