Mullein, verbascum thapus , is a stately bienniel with wooly, greyish green leaves and pretty yellow flowers that appear in the second year. I love the texture of the leaves and and enjoy its presence in my flower borders! It offers a nice contrast to the more refined flowers and the bees just love it too. It grows wild throughout most of North America and Europe. Ulysses took mullein with him on his famous voyage to protect him from Circe who changed his crew into pigs. In India it has been used as protection from evil spirits. Mullein also has some more everyday uses for those not plagued by enchantresses and evil spirits! Historically mullein has been used to treat respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis. In herbal classification, it is considered an expectorant and demulcent. Topically it has been used to treat burns and skin irritations. The active constituents are mucilage, which soothes mucus membranes, saponins, which act as an expectorant and tannins. Mullein is vir...
Information offered on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and none of the statements has been evaluated by the FDA.