Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

A Velvety Soother

Family: Scrophulariaceae; (includes Figwort, Foxglove, Eyebright)

Genus and Species: Verbascum Thapsus

Also known as: Candlewick Plant, Torches, Velvet Dock, Flannel Plant, Feltwort, Aaron’s Rod, Shepherd’s Staff, Lungwort

Parts used: Leaves, flowers, and roots

Mullein (it rhymes with sullen) grows everywhere and is hard to miss, yet few who encounter the velvet-leafed weed with its rod-like stem and striking yellow flowers appreciate its place in herbal Healing as a treatment for some respiratory complaints.

Candlewick Plant

When dried, mullein burns readily. Before the introduction of cotton, the ancients used its leaves and stems as candle wicks, giving it the name candlewick plant. The dried stems and flowers were also dipped in suet to make them burn longer, hence one popular name, torches.

Ancient cultures around the world considered mullein a magical protector against witchcraft and evil spirits. Like other herbs used in magic, mullein has a long history as a healer. Its botanical family name, the Scrophulariaceae, is derived from scrofula, an old term for chronically swollen lymph glands, later identified as a form of tuberculosis.

The Greek physician Dioscorides prescribed a decoction of mullein root in wine as a treatment for “lask and fluxes of the belly” (diarrhea) During the Middle Ages, the French used the herb to treat malandre, an animal disease that produces boils on horses’ necks. Malandre eventually became malen, and finally mullein.

Respiratory Remedy

Early on, this herb gained a reputation as a respiratory remedy, which endures to this day. In ancient India, Ayurvedic physicians prescribed mullein for cough. English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that gargling a mullein decoction “easeth toothache … and old cough.” And herbalist William Coles wrote farmers “give it their cattle against cough.

Colonists introduced mullein into North America, and the Indians quickly adopted it for coughs, bronchitis, and asthma. The accepted way to take mullein in early America seems ridiculous today: People smoked it.

The 19th-century Eclectics viewed mullein as a diuretic to treat water retention and as a stomach and respiratory soother, with mild pain-relieving and tranquilizing action. King’s American Dispensatory asserted: “Upon the upper portion of the respiratory tract, its influence is pronounced.” The Eclectics recommended mullein for colds, coughs, asthma, and tonsillitis, as well as diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and urinary tract infection.

Contemporary herbalists recommend mullein internally for coughs, colds, sore throat, and other respiratory complaints, and externally in a hot vinegar compress for hemorrhoids.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mullein was listed in the National Formulary as a cough remedy, but it was deleted in 1936 for lack of effectiveness. Nonetheless, in a 1986 survey of folk medicine in Indiana, Purdue researcher and herb expert Varro Tyler, Ph.D., found mullein “a very popular Hoosier remedy for all types of respiratory complaints.”

In the test tube, at least, mullein inhibits the growth of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, so perhaps it was of some value against scrofula. Today it’s used mostly to soothe minor respiratory irritation.

Cough and Sore Throat - Mullein contains a substance called mucilage, which swells and becomes slippery as it absorbs water. This probably accounts for its soothing action on the throat. German medical herbalist Rudolph Fritz Weiss, M.D., writes that mullein has a “well-founded reputation as a cough remedy.”

Hemorrhoids - Mullein possibly does more than help soothe hemorrhoids. It also contains tannins, which are astringent. And one study showed the herb has anti-inflammatory properties as well.

Diarrhea - Mullein’s astringent tannins probably account for its traditional use in treating diarrhea.

Rx for Mullein

For an infusion that can help soothe cough and sore throat and that may help treat diarrhea, use I to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves, flowers, or roots per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day. Mullein tastes bitter; add sugar, honey, and lemon, or mix it into an herbal beverage blend to improve flavor.

To help treat hemorrhoids, apply a compress made with a strong, cooled infusion.

In a tincture, take lh to I teaspoon up to three times a day. Dilute mullein infusions may be given cautiously to children under age 2 to help soothe persistent coughs.

Mullein seeds are toxic and may cause poisoning. There have been no reports, however, of adverse effects from the herb’s leaves, flowers, and roots.

Tannins have both pro- and anti-cancer effects. Scientists are not sure which way the balance tilts. Anyone with a history of cancer should not take mullein internally.

The Food and Drug Administration includes mullein in its I ist of herbs generally regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, mullein is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Mullein should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If mullein causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset or diarrhea, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

The Fuzzy Plant That Keeps on Giving

Mullein is a hardy biennial that grows almost anywhere in temperate climes. During its first year, it produces a rosette of large, hairy, tongue-shaped, greenish white, 6- to 15-inch leaves, hence many of its common names: velvet dock, flannel plant, and feltwort. In its second year, mullein sends up a solitary, fibrous stem that reaches 3 to 6 feet, the source of such names as Aaron’s rod and shepherd’s staff. A striking, cylindrical spike of small, dense, yellow flowers develops atop the stem.

Mullein grows easily from seeds in light sandy soil under full sun, but it tolerates other conditions. Sow seeds in spring after danger of frost has passed.

Harvest up to one-third of the leaves during the plant’s first year. Harvest the rest the following year before the flowers bloom. Pick the flowers as they open. Harvest the roots during autumn.

Mullein is a prolific self-sower. Many authorities recommend removing the flower head before the seeds ripen to keep it under control.