Mullein: is a good children's remedy. It is mild tasting, gently sedative, and eases hard, sore coughs or sore throats ...

Common Names: Mullein, Aaron's Rod, Clot, Doffel, Feltwort

Botanical Name: Verbascum thapus

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Plant Type: Hardy biennial

Parts Used: Leaves, flowers

Flowering: June to September

Mullein is a biennial plant native to Europe, where it is found on hillsides and open land.

Description: Mullein is a tall, weedy, unbranched, hairy and soft biennial plant that attains heights of up to 8 feet. It rises from a basal rosette about 2 feet wide with winged stems and a soft, downy or woolly foliage. The leaves are single, alternate, and widely oblong or lancelike, 2 inches to a foot long, with smooth unlobed rims. The high, clublike seed spike does not form until the second year, when, from late June until September, yellow flowers grow densely along it, each with a five part calyx, five-lobed corolla, and the same number of stamens, eventually forming a fruit that is a pod or seed-filled capsule.

Cultivation: Mullein is common in dry, sunny places; growing wild in fields, waste grounds and roadsides. It can be grown from seed, and it will flower in the second year. It prefers dry, chalky soil, in full sun, protected from strong winds.

Harvesting: Collect the leaves before midsummer. The flowers appear between July and September and must be gathered in dry weather - if they are wet, they will turn brown.

Mullein Magick

Courage. Protection. Health. Love. Divination. Exorcism.

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Saturn

Element: Fire

Use a mullein pillow to guard against nightmares.

Carry mullein to obtain love from the opposite sex.

Use powdered mullein leaves as a substitute for graveyard dust in spells.

Carry some as a charm for courage, especially when faced with wild animals.

Herbal Healing with Mullein

Medicinal Actions: Anti-inflammatory, antiviral, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, vulnerary

Medicinal Uses: The leaves and the flowers are both used as a remedy for respiratory disorders. Mullein tones and soothes inflamed mucous membranes making it useful for acute bouts of bronchitis, laryngitis or pneumonia, and chronic conditions of bronchitis and sinusitis. The leaves have been used for tobacco and smoked to relieve throat congestion, catarrh and asthma. Mullein extract in olive oil can be used to treat inflamed skin.

Healing Combinations with Mullein

For an acute (rapid onset) respiratory problem, combine mullein with elder (Sambucus), yarrow (Achillea), thyme (Thymus), and echinacea (Echinacea)

For chronic respiratory complaints, combine mullein with golden rod (Solidago), elecampane (Inula), or Eyebright (Euphrasia)

Source: The Herb Handbook by Su Bristow

fShare

Tweet