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Medieval herb garden blog 88: Buck's horn plantain - Wakefield Museums and Castles
Pontefract Castle 
Medieval herb garden blog 88: Buck's horn plantain
Tuesday, September 15, 2026Week 88 volunteer update
Today Carole and Kim tidied up the 'nursery compound' and removed all the plants. This is in order for Joe to weed-killer the area, as green alkanet has suddenly shot up all over it.
They then cut-back some tansy and dug-up some viper’s bugloss roots. These will be used by two ladies who are running a natural dyes workshop in the October half-term.
While digging up the viper’s bugloss, Carole also dug-up the hound’s tongue plants that were next to them. She then spent 35 minutes trying to remove all the tiny sticky-bud seed heads from the outside (and inside) of her clothes!
Carole also made a list of plants to mention during her final free talk of the year. The talk explores medieval plants, their uses and the medieval view of medicine.
Last week, purple pouches were made containing lavender from the Medieval Herb Garden. These will be going on sale in the castle shop this week.
Green alkanet springing up in the nursery compound
Plant of the week: Buck's horn plantain (plantago coronopus)
'Plantain' and 'plantago' comes from the Latin 'planta' meaning 'sole of the foot', because of its flat, ground-hugging rosette of leaves. 'Coronopus' is from the Ancient Greek 'korōnē' meaning 'crow' and 'pous' meaning 'foot'. This name also describes the shape of the leaves.
'Buck's horn' comes from the shape of the leaves which resemble the antlers of a male deer. The first recorded use of this English name dates to 1578.
Native to Great Britain, buck’s horn plantain is a short-lived perennial or biennial plant. It prefers to grow in full sun, in well-drained, south or west-facing, chalk, loam or sand. It is a very hardy plant, being capable of surviving to below -20 degrees celsius.
It produces a star-like, basal rosette of narrow, lance-shaped leaves up to 9.8 inches (25 cm) long. The leaves are toothed or deeply divided which look like tiny deer antlers.
Buck's horn plantain flowers between May and October. It produces unfurrowed, upright flowering stems which sometimes curve. The inflorescences grow to 1.6 inches (4 cm) to 2.8 inches (7 cm) in height. The tiny greenish-white or yellowish flowers have four lobes measuring about 1 mm across.
It has a single, slender, tap-like, main root accompanied by several fine fibrous branches.
It produces two types of seed; larger mucilaginous seeds (best for autumn sowing) and smaller seeds. There are approximately 3,000 to 5,800 of the tiny seeds per gram.
Image credit: "Plantago coronopus (flowers) in Szczecin Kleskowo, NW Poland" by Kryzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Buck's horn plantain flowers.
Culinary uses of buck's horse plantain
Buck’s horn plantain, also known as 'herba stella' or 'minutina', has crisp leaves with a mild, nutty, and slightly salty flavour. It is widely used as a fresh salad leaf, particularly in traditional Italian mixed wild greens salads 'misticanza'. It is also as a garnish on sandwiches.
It can be lightly wilted, tossed into stir-fries and pasta dishes, or treated like spinach in soups and omelettes etc.
Though less commonly used, the small flowers are also edible and can be used as a garnish.
Use of buck's horn plantain as a dye plant
Buck’s horn plantain, like other plantains, produces soft yellows, greens, or light gold-brown dyes.
Folklore and other facts about buck's horse plantain
Traditional folklore credits buck’s horn plantain with protective and curative magic.
People hung the plant around their necks or inside doorways to guard against bad spirits.
Old beliefs held that carrying the herb would also scare away snakes and protect people from venomous bites.
Travelers would place the low-growing leaves under their feet inside their shoes. This was to prevent weariness on long journeys.
Medieval medicinal uses of buck's horse plantain*
Buck’s horn plantain was used historically as a mild laxative or for kidney and bladder complaints.
Leaf infusions were used as an eyewash for sore or tired eyes.
It was also used as a remedy for the bloody flux, the biting of mad dogs, persistent headaches, vomiting, wounds, and stones.
As a remedy for the ague (malaria), the whole plant was often hung round the neck in the form of an amulet.
*Needless to say, this isn't to be considered medical advice from us to you today! No herbs mentioned in these blogs should be used as medicine without advice from a doctor.
Medieval herb garden blogs
Browse all blogs by our dedicated team of volunteer gardeners at Pontefract Castle. Discover a different 'Plant of the Week'.