Word explanation:
Spitzwegerich (also known as Spießkraut, Snake’s Tongue and Lung Leaf) comes from High German and is made up of the words “Wega” and “Ri”. This translates as “way and king”.

The pointed lungwort is usually or typically found by the wayside and was used by doctors in wartime as a wound healer and antibiotic. Its active ingredients such as aucubin, silicic acid, and mucilage and tannins are what give ribwort its healing properties.

Harvest:
Please always harvest fresh leaves. How exactly you need to harvest the leaves – learn in this article here. By gently rolling and pressing the leaves a liquid oozes out, you can then use this for the treatment.

Indication:
Decongestant, antibacterial, antiseptic, expectorant, blood purifier, hemostatic, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, irritation reliever, mucous membrane protector, wound healer, astringent.

Applicable in:
Asthma, bronchitis, urinary tract inflammation, skin inflammation, cough, insect bites, lye inflammation, lung weakness, gastritis, irritable bowel, burns and wounds.
Internal use:

Syrup:
Ribwort plantain can be used as a cough syrup, to do this, cut a few leaves into small pieces and put them in a screw-top jar. Alternate about 1 cm cut ribwort leaves, then a tablespoon of liquid honey, then again ribwort leaves, etc. until the jar is full. You end with honey as this seals the air and it does not start to rot. Put the jar in a cool place for three months or bury the jar in the ground (please put it in a plastic bag beforehand). Place the jar in the pre-buried hole and put a board over it so that you do not damage the jar when digging it out. Then you can cover the hole and board with soil and mark the place. After three months, you can dig up the jar again and put the liquid in a brown bottle. So you can take this by the spoonful in winter when you have a cough.

Tea:
You can easily prepare the tea from the fresh or dried leaves of the plant. For the infusion, take two teaspoons of the dried plantain and brew it with a quarter of a liter of hot water. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. Strain the tea through a sieve and drink it freshly prepared 3 times a day. It is effective against respiratory problems, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, lung weakness and many other diseases see above. If desired, you can add some honey to the tea.

External use:

Direct application:
To heal wounds from insect bites, injuries, etc. Dab the juice of the emerging leaves on the wound.

Ribwort ointment Ingredients:
1 handful of freshly picked ribwort leaves.
100 ml organic vegetable oil (olive oil is always best)
12 g beeswax

1. cut the fresh ribwort leaves into small pieces. Now you can put the cut leaves into the previously sterilized screw jar and cover it completely with the vegetable oil.

2. the mixture must now be left at room temperature for two weeks. Shake the jar daily so that all the leaves are well covered. If you need to do it faster, you can also leave the crushed leaves and the oil in a water bath for 30 minutes at low heat.

3. after two weeks (or 30 minutes) the leaves and the oil must be sieved from each other, for this purpose it is best to use a fine sieve and a cotton cloth.

4. as a final step, you can now heat the oil in a pot at a really low temperature and melt the beeswax in it. The exact specifications for the mixing ratio is about 12 g of wax to 100 ml of oil. Now fill the mixture into small dark jars and close them well AFTER cooling. The ointment can now be kept for several months.

The ointment can be used for mosquito bites, inflamed skin areas, for coughs on the chest or small burns, etc.

Ingredients:
Aucubin, tannins, germanium, potassium, silica, mucilage, vitamin B, vitamin C, zinc, zircon Ribwort can also be dried.