The
great mullein plant reaches heights of up to six
feet tall, making this striking looking plant
rather hard to miss. It’s interesting appearance
has led to some amusing names that all belie the
plant’s uses over time.
We get the word
mullein from the Latin word mollis, which means
soft. The large leaves of this plant are indeed
soft looking, covered on top and bottom by a wooly
down. The leaves look a little like donkey’s
ears and that’s exactly the name sometimes
used for this plant.
With leaves stripped,
the long stems resemble tapers. In some places,
mulleins are called torches because they make
decent candles once the stems are dipped in tallow.
At a time when cotton candlewicks were too expensive
or unheard of, the leaves and stems of this, the
candlewick plant, were used instead.
When in bloom,
tall spikes of vivid yellow flowers stand above
the plant, perhaps looking from a distance like
a torch afire, thus the name hag’s taper,
after the old English word for hedge.
By either name,
the fuzzy leaves of the great mullein are rich
with mucilage and therefore prized for their medicinal
uses. Smoking the dried leaves was once a highly
beneficial treatment for asthma and consumption.
The leaves are still considered an effective treatment
for asthma, bronchitis, and catarrh.
Insomniacs may
want to try a tea made from the beautiful yellow
flower tapers. The flowers contain elements famous
for their soothing and sedating effects.
A maceration made
from olive oil and the great mullein’s flower
blossoms have long been used warm as drops to
soothe the pain of earaches.
This interesting
plant can help make you beautiful, too, if you
are a blonde. Golden-tressed ladies of ancient
Rome used the lovely yellow blossoms as a hair
dye to enhance their naturally golden locks.
Reference:
Kruger, Anna; An Illustrated Guide to Herbs: Their
Medicine and Magic; A Dragon’s World Book;
Limpsfield and London; 1993
|
