It is another cold winter day with a heavy blanket of snow on the ground. The temperatures have dropped into the negative numbers and all is quiet and still. Even the tracks of deer, foxes, and squirrels have disappeared in the snow, but the strong stems of mullein, milkweed, goldenrod, wild carrot, and echinacea stand boldly as the snow continues to fall. It is the mullein that draws my attention this afternoon and it is the thoughts of warmed mullein leaf infusion sweetened with maple syrup and a little milk that offers a soothing effect to the deep seated congestion that settles in the bronchioles during this blustery dry season.
Mullein, Verbascum thapsus, is in the Scrophulariaceae family and is a striking biennial found along roadsides and railroad tracks, on the outer edges of woodlands and in open fields, and often on hedge banks, at the edges of areas that are rarely mowed, at least in our yard. According to Maude Grieves (1933), the genus Verbascum is a widely distributed plant, growing in Europe, West and Central Asia, North Africa, and North America, and contains 210 species. It seems to have naturalized here in the US, and I have seen it growing in rocky, dry fields in Columbia, South Carolina as a child in the 70’s to as far north as Vermont and in areas near Glasgow, Scotland, spanning zones 3 – 8 in the US.
During the first year, a rosette of large, soft, and woolly grayish green leaves emerge, which is an easy way to identify the plant. The velvety leaves are oblong and oval in shape and grow up to 18 inches in length and 7-8 inches in width. In the second year, a thick, tall, stalk grows from the center of the rosette, bearing leaves that grow alternately and progressively smaller as a flower spike of almost 12 inches tops the stalk with 1/2 – 1 inch, five petalled, yellow flowers appearing at different times in early summer to late fall. The stately plant can grow 7-9 feet tall. It is these distinguishing characteristics of mullein that have inspired nicknames in Europe, such as Our Lady’s Flannel, Velvet Dock, Candlewick Plant, Jupiter’s Staff, and Hag’s Taper.
Mullein has been used as a medicine for at least two thousand years and there are accounts of use in many parts of the world (Alfs, 2013) . All parts of the mullein plant can be used, but it is the dried leaves and flowers that herbalists work with the most. The dried leaves and flowers are considered to be antispasmodic, anti inflammatory, expectorant, demulcent, and astringent; an ideal remedy for problems of the respiratory tract such as bronchitis, whooping cough, and chest colds. A tea or a long steeped infusion with greater amounts of herb are the easiest and most prevalent ways to work with mullein internally, but tinctures can be used as well.
We have used different forms of mullein successfully on a variety of occasions, but it is the long steeped infusion that we like the most for breaking up deep seated congestion and promoting expectoration, and drinking it preventatively to keep mucus from settling into the bronchioles in the first place. (See Herbal Recipes) The use of mullein came to mind one cold morning in October, at the Galesburg Farmers Market, when an older gentleman stopped by my booth to ask if I knew of any herb that might help him. He told me of his chronic respiratory condition and said that he coughed so hard that he felt like he was breaking his ribs and was willing to try anything. I suggested trying mullein tea and increasing the amount each day if he reacted positively. We met again several weeks later and he reported that he drank a weak infusion once a day at first and then increased it as it helped break up the hardness and make the cough more productive, while reducing the severity of the painful coughing. He asked if I had more of the dried mullein leaf available to get him through the winter and told me that he knew the plant and would let it grow freely on his property without killing it ever again.
The leaves are also known as a wound wort, and can be bruised or boiled and applied externally to soothe nerve pain, bruises, and burns. I have been told of cases where smoking the dried leaf helped to relieve asthma attacks; Robin Rose Bennett, among others, speak of this as well (Bennett, 2015). Mullein leaf and root have also been used to help with adult diarrhea and issues of the kidneys. The flowers are thought to be pain relieving with antiseptic properties. We have made mullein flower oil to ease ear aches (See Herbal Recipes), where it is most useful when the ear pain is related to an upper respiratory illness. The oil can also be used topically for pain relief and might be best suited for nerve pain and potential neuralgias (Wood, 1997), a remedy that I plan to work with more.
If you are fortunate enough to be around a place where mullein grows freely, consider yourself blessed, as mullein is very good and safe medicine. Harvesting some of the leaves can be done in the first year while the leaves are in the rosette, but waiting until the second year is more beneficial to the plant. When it sends up the stalk and flowers begin to grow, harvest the newly opening flowers and the leaves (preferably after several dry days). Spread the leaves out to dry for one to two weeks and/or infuse the flowers in oil or a good quality vodka. Do not overharvest the flowers, allowing 75% of the flowers to go to seed, offering the potential for new plants to grow in the vicinity in the following year. Additionally, insects/pollinators are attracted to the flowers when in bloom and the birds feed and perch on the dried stalks in the winter.
I enjoy mullein so much that I am seriously considering growing it in our garden, as wildcrafting it doesn’t always yield enough for use in our family and to share with others. And while this past year, I was able to wildcraft/ harvest a good bit of mullein, I still feel like I did not have enough surplus to offer to those who might really benefit from it. And yet as I write this, I am well aware of how extra mullein came our way last summer. A dear friend of ours invited me over to forage with her in late July, on several acres of disturbed land, where they had created a large pond with habitat that was perfectly suited to mullein getting well established. We enjoyed the late afternoon, climbing up and down the pond’s edges to carefully harvest the most beautiful leaves (from the second year plants). It is interesting to note that this surplus of mullein was the exact amount that I traded with another friend who was making her way out to Oregon in early September, where she was concerned with the air quality from the wildfires and thought the mullein might be helpful. Nature offers us such balance in ways that we do not always recognize.
May you enjoy the many qualities that mullein offers and may we all be filled with gratitude and optimal nourishment as we engage in this deeply fulfilling relationship that brings us ever closer to the heart of the earth, and to each other, and to a place of connection and healing.