Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

The meadow is no more: scythed, mown and raked away for the winter, much to the delight of our resident green woodpecker who has been nibbling up all the bugs now revealed on the ground. One of the last men standing as the blade swished through the grass was Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) whose tall slender stems with their poodle-tail seed heads on top lasted right into September. Apparently a common ingredient in herbal tea, this can also be used to make a home-made cough syrup - somewhat ironic as since we've cut it all back, I could really use some for the husky cough I've developed this week!#inthemeadow