Mullein

[Guest guest]

Since mullein grows SO well in my yard and there are

scorpions, do tell, what part of the mullein do you

use to make the extract? Flowers? Leaves?

 

After you've made the extract, how much do you use AND

do you ingest it OR dab in on the area?

 

Inquiring minds,

Judy

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Thanks, Rick, for both posts on mullein. Sounds like it will work great for

upper respiratory problems. Is it okay to use it with oregano?

 

Effie

 

Herbalcall <Herbalcall

britchs <britchs;

 

Saturday, April 20, 2002 11:41 PM

Mullein

 

 

Don't confuse Extracts with Oils they are NOT the same at all. Store bought

extracts are made with water and alcohol. My homemade extract is made with

Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol. EO from my understanding is made of the pure

pressed oils from the plant, and nothing added. The same goes for oils like

Mullein oil, which is made from the flowers oil and olive oil. Oils have NO

alcohol in them.

********************************************************************************\

**************

 

Mullein

 

The herb mullein is an old-time remedy for bronchitis and dry, unproductive

coughs. Mullein is a good expectorant, and in the process of clearing out the

congestion, it also soothes irritation in the throat and bronchial passages. An

antispasmodic, mullein can relieve stomach cramps and help control diarrhea.

 

Mullein benefits:

 

 

 

o Covers and protects scraped tissues

o Softens and soothes irritated skin

o Shrinks tissues

o Prevents secretion of fluids

o Ease coughs and sore throats

o Soothe minor abrasions

o Relieve hemorrhoid pain

 

 

 

Mullein is widely used in Europe for complaints of the respiratory system.

The mullein plant is characterized by wide " woolly " leaves that project below a

tall stalk. Mullein is a common plant in the Western United States mountain

areas.

 

 

Common use of mullein:

 

Demulcent, anodyne, anti-inflammatory; Expectorant, respiratory support

bronchitis, relaxant.

****************************************************************************

More information:

 

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2603/0005/2603000534/p1/article.jhtml

 

http://www.zianet.com/desertbloom/monographs/mullein.html

 

Good Luck, Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I've purchased a few things from SF Herbs and have

been very pleased. Lavender was very fragrant,

chamomille was dreamy etc..... I even buy the chili

powder for my own use (+ garlic etc). I don't recall

how it was shipped either USPS or UPS. So far, I've

been very pleased with everything I've ordered from

them.

 

Judy

>

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Janine-

I am not Judy- but I will reply.

I am an herb purist- and I would not buy herbs for medicinal use from SF

herbs.

I would recommend Pacific Botanicals- I try to buy from lacal growers and

use herbs I grow myself- and when i cant PB is one of my suppliers. They are

wholesale and have 1 lb minimums.

They are shipped in plastic bags- by UPS - I have had excellent quality from

them- except my last batch of Chaparral! I was going to wildcraft when i was

in Tucson, but , as you know, it has been so dry, the wild stuff was not

great- and my herbalist friend had some lovely stuff that she had been

watering! Full of resin...

So- theres my recommendation...

 

Michelle

 

> I have wildcrafted or organically grown all my herbs I use, so I'm having

a hard time buying herbs, so far.

>

> And I know, basically, when herbs are up, so the any mullein anyone is

selling has to be last years, and since

> I am not familiar with distributors storing practices, it's difficult to

buy.

>

> Do you buy from there? Are they any good? How fresh are they? How are they

shipped?

>

> I used to live in Sacramento, Calif. Now I live in Phoenix.

>

> Janine

> www.HerbaTherapy.com

> Seabuckthorn seed oil CO2

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you Michelle!! And Thank you Judy!

 

It's the purists I am after. lol

I am *so* picky and particular and detail oriented. Perhaps I can travel to very

Northern Calif this summer and get some mullein and such. Dried cow pies. [love

that smell!] Butch said something about dried cow pies, didn't he? Huh Butch?

 

I will always swap chap if I have any.

I have some that are dry and were picked with flowers on.

 

Just and FYI, I infused fresh, do NOT ever do that! The stench is HORRENDOUS.

course, I'm apparently the *only* one in America that thinks it stinks. lol It

infused for two months in this heat, ooooh baby!

 

When were you in Tucson?

 

Janine

 

www.HerbaTherapy.com

Seabuckthorn seed oil CO2

 

 

[Guest guest]

That's awesome Caroline! This herbal stuff is great, huh!?? LOL!!

 

:)Kelli

 

 

Caroline [ladyguinevere] Saturday, June 05, 2004 2:31 PMherbal_Remedies Subject: Herbal Remedies - Mullein

By the time I was finished with the cup of tea I did not feel the need to cough at all and my throat felt completely fine.

 

All I can say is wow!

[Guest guest]

Yeah Kelli...I am really really enjoying learning so much more about all of this. It really has me excited...and I just can't seem to stop learning. I want to start taking some of the courses but can't afford to do so at the moment, so I will have to settle for doing my own research and studaying everything I can get my hands on!!

 

Caroline

 

-

Kelli Bever

herbal remedies

Sunday, June 06, 2004 3:22 PM

RE: Herbal Remedies - Mullein

 

That's awesome Caroline! This herbal stuff is great, huh!?? LOL!!

 

:)Kelli

 

 

Caroline [ladyguinevere] Saturday, June 05, 2004 2:31 PMherbal_Remedies Subject: Herbal Remedies - Mullein

By the time I was finished with the cup of tea I did not feel the need to cough at all and my throat felt completely fine.

 

All I can say is wow! Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

I'm in the same boat Caroline - I love learning more and more about this! Would love to take some classes, but don't have time... (time, money, ... pretty much the same, huh? What good is one without the other?! LOL!)

 

I love searching around and finding out about new stuff!

 

:)Kelli

 

 

Caroline [ladyguinevere] Sunday, June 06, 2004 1:16 PMherbal remedies Subject: Re: Herbal Remedies - Mullein

Yeah Kelli...I am really really enjoying learning so much more about all of this.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/5/2004 2:32:47 PM US Mountain Standard Time, ladyguinevere writes:

 

All I can say is wow! The suggestion was to have a cup of tea per day for maintenance purposes. I can see this as something I will do while sitting at the computer in the evenings after supper.

 

Just wanted to share!

Caroline

A friend of mine has asthma and drinks mullein tea when having problems and it always has helped. Mullein is wonderful in many ways.

 

Tastes pretty good as well.

 

God Bless,

Jamie in Az

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/7/2004 11:03:30 AM US Mountain Standard Time, ladyguinevere writes:

 

Jamie,

 

We will see! I made her some tea bags...using small coffee filters...and tying them with a cotton string. I knew she didn't have an infuser of any sort so this was the next best thing! lol

 

Caroline

That's a great idea using small coffee filters!!! I haven't thought of that! LOL

 

God Bless,

Jamie in Az

[Guest guest]

Jamie,

 

Yes, I have found that the taste is very good. I was delighted with this as I could actually give some to a friend who is having troubles and hopefully will give her an idea that this stuff DOES work! lol We will see! I made her some tea bags...using small coffee filters...and tying them with a cotton string. I knew she didn't have an infuser of any sort so this was the next best thing! lol

 

Caroline

 

A friend of mine has asthma and drinks mullein tea when having problems and it always has helped. Mullein is wonderful in many ways.

 

Tastes pretty good as well.

 

God Bless,

Jamie in Az

[Guest guest]

I'll second that! Mullien tea is usually the first thing we try when

i have trouble breathing or with congestion.

 

Sylvia

 

herbal remedies , SpareRibOfAz@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 6/5/2004 2:32:47 PM US Mountain Standard Time,

> ladyguinevere@e... writes:

> All I can say is wow! The suggestion was to have a cup of tea per

day for

> maintenance purposes. I can see this as something I will do while

sitting at

> the computer in the evenings after supper.

>

> Just wanted to share!

> Caroline

> A friend of mine has asthma and drinks mullein tea when having

problems and

> it always has helped. Mullein is wonderful in many ways.

>

> Tastes pretty good as well.

>

> God Bless,

> Jamie in Az

[Guest guest]

Actually if you check around, you can find little tea back filters

just like coffee filters that you can feel yourself.

 

Sylvia

herbal remedies , SpareRibOfAz@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 6/7/2004 11:03:30 AM US Mountain Standard Time,

> ladyguinevere@e... writes:

> Jamie,

>

> We will see! I made her some tea bags...using small coffee

filters...and

> tying them with a cotton string. I knew she didn't have an infuser

of any sort

> so this was the next best thing! lol

>

> Caroline

> That's a great idea using small coffee filters!!! I haven't

thought of that!

> LOL

>

> God Bless,

> Jamie in Az

[Guest guest]

Mullein is a plant that is FANTASTIC to use as a tea for when you have a cold or upper respiratory problem. Magickally, it can be used as a substitute for "graveyard dust" in protection spells and mild hexing. Mullein is also a good herb to use in a dream pillow to prevent nightmares, especially for someone who is allergic to chamomile. Here's a nice article

 

 

Illustration by Maida SilvermanNote: colorized for this website

MULLEIN* (Verbascum thapsus)

~ Excerpt pp.99-104 - A City Herbal by Maida Silverman

Folknames: Clown's Lungwort, Bullock's Lungwort, Our Lady's Flannel, Adam's Flannel, Indian Flannel, Feltwort, Velvet Dock, Velvet Plant, Woolen, Blanket Herb, Beggar's Blanket, Candlewick Plant, Torches, High Taper, Hag Taper, Witches' Taper, Aaron's Rod, Jacob's Staff., St. Peter's Staff., Quaker Rouge.

Location: Roadsides, embankments, vacant lots, and similar open, sunny areas.

Botanical Description: Probably everyone has seen Mullein. It is a pretty plant, particularly conspicuous along highways in the city. Mullein is quite tall. It generally grows to about four feet high, but plants of six feet and more are not uncommon.

Mullein is a biennial and in the first year produces a rosette of large, gray-green, feltlike leaves. The following year a tall, rigid stalk grows from the center of this rosette. This stalk ( occasionally branched near the top) is clasped along its entire length by smaller leaves which actually merge with the stalk at their bases. The upper part of this stalk becomes the flower spike. As summer advances, it becomes covered with densely packed buds. In the Northeast, delicate yellow flowers open at random along this stalk from late June until September.

The entire plant is covered with fine, downy hairs that give Mullein its characteristic soft, velvety texture and appearance, and help the plant retain moisture. In the fall the woody stalks are covered with a beautiful starlike pattern of empty seed pods, which turn brown and persist on the stems throughout the winter.

Mullein is an Old World plant. It was introduced from Europe, where it was for centuries an esteemed medicinal herb. The colonists planted it in their gardens; it has since escaped and become naturalized throughout the United States.

 

Illustration by Maida SilvermanNote: colorized for this website

Historical Lore, Legends, and Uses: The great respect and love formerly accorded to Mullein can be inferred from the number and variety of the folknames for it, of which the above is but a partial list. Some allude to the feltlike, woolly texture and size of the leaves; others reflect usage.

Mullein was known in Greek as Flego and Fluma, that is, "to set on fire." According to one writer, "it served as a wick to put into lamps to burn." The leaves were rolled and dried and used as wicks for oil lamps and candles, and made excellent tinder. The Latin names for Mullein were Candelaria and Candela Regia. "The elder age," observed John Parkinson, a seventeenth-century herbalist, "used the stalks dipped in suet whether to burn at funerals or otherwise, and so likewise the English name High Taper, used in the same manner as a taper or torch."

Mullein has been a valued medicinal herb since antiquity. The Greek physician-herbalist Dioscorides was one of the first to recommend its use in curing diseases of the lungs, and it remained thus employed for more than 1,800 years. Infusions of the leaves and flowers were used, and similar preparations were administered to cure lung ailments in swine and cattle.

Mullein was used to treat a variety of other ailments. Awash prepared from the leaves, flowers, and roots soothed sprains, reduced inflammations, and healed wounds. The flowers infused in oil were used to cure hemorrhoids and as a specific cure for earache.

In our own country, several native American tribes used Mullein to cure chest diseases. Since the plant was not native to America, this usage was probably received by them (no doubt along with the lung ailments it was said to cure) from the early settlers. The Navajos called Mullein "big tobacco." They mixed it with regular tobacco and smoked the combination to relieve coughing spasms. It was also believed that this remedy would cure simple mental diseases, the use of evil language, and the thinking of evil thoughts.

The Delaware made poultices by boiling the leaves of Mullein and putting them into cloth bags. Applied to the joints, these poultices were said to reduce swelling and ease rheumatic pains. The Catawba called Mullein "gray leaf." They made poultices of the mashed leaves and used them for treating sprains, swelling, and wounds. For lung and bronchial troubles, the Catawba gathered Mullein leaves from plants that had not yet blossomed and mixed them into a syrup with another plant called "plum root." The Mohegans of Connecticut made a cough medicine by steeping Mullein leaves with molasses.

Mullein was known to the Pennsylvania Dutch as Wolla Graut. The Amish eschewed the use of tobacco, but permitted Mullein leaves to be smoked for the relief of asthma attacks. To soothe nasal congestion and sore throat, boiling water was poured over the fresh leaves and flowers and the steam was inhaled.

In the United States during the 18oos and early 19oos, Mullein was frequently prescribed for pulmonary diseases and physicians recommended its use for curing diarrhea and severe headache as well. Until quite recently, Mullein was a popular folk remedy in the Ozarks. Mullein-flower tea was drunk to relieve all kinds of chest disorders, from mild colds to pneumonia, and poultices of the leaves soaked in hot vinegar were applied to swellings and sprains.

This last remedy was considered helpful for most painful conditions; an observer who lived among these people for many years remembers being told that a poultice of Mullein leaves was used to ease the pain of wounds caused by bird shot. It also loosened up the pellets and made them easier and less painful to remove.

Mullein was listed as an emollient and demulcent in the 1917 edition of Potter's Therapeutics, which noted: "It has long been a popular Irish remedy in pulmonary affections" (asthma and whooping cough particularly). An infusion of the dried leaves in milk was recommended as a valuable expectorant that also eased coughing and improved the general condition. It was useful for cystitis, irritable bladder, and diarrhea as well.

In rural South Carolina, Mullein-leaf tea is still employed (with the occasional admixture of basil and pine needles) to relieve colds and reduce fevers. Applied externally, this tea heals sprains, and a poultice of the leaves mixed with fat is used to bring boils to a head. At one time, large quantities of Mullein were dried and placed in barns to keep mice away from the grain stored there.

The ancient beneficial properties of Mullein have not been entirely discarded. The plant is included in many over-the-counter asthma remedies, and modern homeopathic doctors still prescribe it for treating chest complaints. In Europe an extract of Mullein is used in the preparation of an Old World liqueur called Altvater laegnerdorf.

It ought hardly to surprise anyone that Mullein, companion to humankind for more than two thousand years, became endowed with various occult and supernatural powers. Not only is this the case, but these properties long predated the medicinal use of Mullein.

The Anglo-Saxons were quoting an ancient legend when they observed: "Of Feldwort [as they called Mullein] it is said that Mercurius gave this wort to Ulixes the Chieftain when he came to Circe, and after that he dreaded none of her witchcraft." They add, "If one weareth with him one twig of this wort, he will not be terrified with any awe, nor will a wild beast hurt him, or any evil come near."

Much later, it became the custom in parts of Europe to dip Mullein stalks in tallow and burn them to frighten away witches. The names of Saints may have been invoked for additional assistance in warding off the evil host, and this may account for names such as St. Peter's Staff and Aaron's Rod. (Aaron, it will be remembered, is described in the Book of Exodus as using his magic staff to overcome the sorcerers of Pharaoh.)

With the ambivalence so frequently encountered in superstitious beliefs, Mullein had a reputation for being a favorite plant of witches. In England, Mullein torche were burned to illuminate their Sabbat revels, alluded to by folknames such as Hag Taper and Witches' Taper. Mullein was a plant of Saturn, the planet of evil, who ruled all poisonous herbs and plants of ill repute that were employed by the followers of the devil.

Mullein leaves were worn as charms to ensure conception. John Gerard apparently believed they could have the opposite effect as well, for he advised that Mullein worn in the shoe "brings down in maidens their desired sickness" (which sounds like a euphemism for an abortifacient).

As might be expected, Mullein was used in love divination. A girl sought out a Mullein plant and named it for her lover. She then bent the stalk toward her home and visited it from time to time to observe how it grew. If it remained bent toward her house, he was faithful; if not, he was untrue. As a cosmetic herb, Mullein was used as far back as Roman times. A wash reputed to restore to its original color hair that had turned gray ~as prepared from ashes of the plant. During the Middle Ages a rinse made with the flowers was said to keep the hair blond, but it had to be used for a long time. Young girls rubbed their cheeks with a leaf to make them pink; much later, Quaker women, forbidden the use of rouge, did the same.

Suggested Uses: The dry seed stalks of Mullein gathered in the fall are among the most decorative wild plants for indoor decoration. They can be combined with other dried plants, but are even more effective when massed by themselves in a large jug. This arrangement looks especially handsome next to a fireplace. Individual stalks of Mullein can even be used as tapers to start the fire.

An unusual recommendation involving Mullein is mentioned in an old volume of the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture ( 1933 edition) .The first-year rosette, it suggests, can be potted as a houseplant, for the sake of its attractive shape, color, and texture.

 

--

MULLEIN-FLOWER TEA

Pour I cup of boiling water over I heaping tablespoon of Mullein flowers. Let steep10 minutes, strain, and sweeten with honey if desired.

MULLEIN FLOWERS IN MILK

This is a pleasant, nutritious drink that, taken at bedtime, soothes irritated bronchial passages and relieves coughing. Modern herbalists also recommend this drink to relieve diarrhea in adults.

Combine 2 tablespoons of mullein flowers (or you may substitute chopped fresh mullen leaves if you wish) with 1 pint of milk. Heat to the scalding point and let stand until warm. Strain and sweeten with honey.

Note: Mullein drinks should be strained through coffee filter paper, to remove the fine hairs that cover the entire plant. These are irritating to the mouth and throat.

* Excerpt from A City Herbal by Maida Silverman

Photo by Karen BergeronCopyright 2000.