Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) Flashcards
(16 cards)
What are the energetics of Mullein?
Leaves & Flowers: cooling and moistening
Roots: warming and drying
What are the common names of Mullein?
What conditions are Mullein leaves for?
Support lungs: mild relaxant and demulcent which is excellent for dry, irritated lungs accompanied by a cough (asthma, bronchitis, inhalation of irritants like pollution or wildfire smoke)
Rubbing it on the surface of the skin, dilates the capillaries drawing blood and increasing circulation to the area.
A poultice on the chest helps move stagnancy in the lungs increasing a healthy thin mucous that can be easily expelled.
What are the properties of Mullein?
What parts of Mullein are used for medicine?
Root (back and joint pain)
Leaves (for dry irritated lungs accompanied by cough, asthma, bronchitis, allergies, increase circulation to area when rubbed into skin)
Flowers (ear aches due to ear infections & herpes simplex outbreaks)
What preparations can you make with Mullein?
Tea: leaves (dry, irritated lungs accompanied by cough) & flower (herpes simplex outbreak)
Tincture (back and joint pain)
Poultice (on chest to stimulate production of thin mucous easy to expel)
Where does Mullein originate from and how did it come to North America?
Origin: Europe & Asia
How many species of Mullein are there?
Describe the Mullein plant and its lifecycle.
2-year lifespan
1st year: rosette of greyish green leaves (feel like felt because covered with fuzzy hairs that protect the leaves from the sun)
2nd year: plant produces a tall wand-like stalk. Around the spike at the top of the stalk, 5-petaled yellow flowers grow and only a few bloom at once. Leaves get smaller the higher they are in the stalk.
Propagate via seeds (fruit is oval capsule containing many seeds)
What growing conditions does Mullein prefer?
What is the relationship of Mullein with the ecosystem?
Various pollinators visit the Mullein flower (bees, flies, butterflies, etc). If the flower has not been cross pollinated by the end of the day, it will self-pollinate.
Carder bees pull the hair and use it to line their nests.
Birds eat the seeds and the insect larvae that grown on the plant.
Mullein is a HYPERACCUMULATOR of heavy metals (it can uptake heavy metal from the soil and store them). This makes them a potential choice for soil remediation to clean up a contaminated site (polluted industrial sites)
Interesting facts about Mullein
Greek physicians were recommending it for coughs over 2000 years ago!!
Mullein (related to French word “molle” meaning soft) - soft to the touch due to hairs BUT hairs can also be irritants when rubbed too hard
Before the invention of rouge, women used to rub mullein leaf on their cheeks. The hairs are irritating to the skin and it can have a rubefacient effect by dilating the capillaries and drawing blood to the surface giving the cheeks a flushed look.
Can grow up to 10 feet tall!
Flowers only open for a day and close by midafternoon.
It’s considered a noxious week in several US states.
Colonizes disturbed soil if left unchecked.
Seeds depend on light to germinate.
What conditions are Mullein Root for?
Strengthen the bladder. Used for incontinence caused by stress, childhood inconvenience, pregnancy or menopause. Also used for interstitial cystitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, enlarged prostate).
Helps relieve back and joint pain.
What condition are Mullein Flowers for?
Famous for relieving ear aches. Mullein flower-infused oil acts as an anodyne, relieving pain, while exerting lymphatic action around the ear to resolve the infection.
Mullein flower tea negatively affects the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and resolve outbreaks caused by sun, food allergies and estrogen surges before ovulation.
How to harvest Mullein
Harvest basal leaves with scissors or sharp knife in Autumn of 1st year or Spring of 2nd year but before the stalk forms.
Harvest flowers individually as they bloom preferably in the morning before they close.
Mullein reproduces by seed so make sure not to harvest all the flowers so that the plant can form seeds and propagate.
What are Mullein lookalikes? What cautions need to be taken with Mullein?
Foxglove (deadly)
Lambs ear
Mullein is a hyperaccumulator of heavy metals so make sure to harvest in a place that has healthy soils that aren’t contaminated by heavy metals.
