Plant Profile: Mullein
A Soothing and Resilient Herb for Winter
On a frosty November morning, I moved through my usual routine of coffee, getting myself ready, and morning chores. During the last part of my routine, tending to the chickens, I walked along the gravel driveway on my way to the shed to fill the feeder. Most things were dormant, dull, and lifeless, but growing under the awning where we park vehicles, I saw a beautiful rosette of fuzzy, pale-green leaves protruding directly out of the gravel. What creature thrives in such wet, frigid mornings in disturbed, rocky “soil” that never gets watered? Only Verbascum Thapsus, also known as Mullein. You’ve probably seen it growing en masse in open fields, areas disturbed by humans and/or grazers, along roadsides, and even in forests (though it prefers a sunny, open location). Mullein is known to be an extremely tough creature. It can thrive in rocky and dry environments where most other plants would suffer.
Identifying Mullein
Mullein was the very first herbaceous plant I was able to confidently identify. The only plant it sort of looks like, in my opinion, is Lamb’s Ear, another herbaceous perennial with a rosette of fuzzy leaves. However, Lamb’s ear leaves form a more upright rosette and are more elongated. It’s difficult to explain the difference, so check out their images side-by-side:
Mullein is like a fuzzy little cabbage, while Lamb’s Ear’s smallest leaves are always reaching for the sky. When crushed, Mullein leaves smell deeply earthy, while Lamb’s Ear smells faintly like apple and its leaves tend to be paler and more densely toothed. Lamb’s Ear is also medicinal, so it is unlikely that mistaking one for the other will hurt you, but it’s always advisable to be 100% certain when it comes to foraged herbs.
In its first year, Mullein grows rosettes of soft, fuzzy leaves. They grow from the root crown at the soil surface, the lowest layer of leaves lying on or just above the soil. The pale-green, oblong leaves are anywhere from 4-12″ long and 1-5″ wide, alternating on the plant with the larger leaves at the bottom. They get progressively smaller as they grow upward. The leaves are densely covered in soft, tiny hairs and they grow in the shape of a cabbage plant.
In the second year, plants produce a stalk that can grow to be 5 to 10 feet tall. Then, the plant blooms with flowers that are small and yellow with five petals. The flowers are grouped densely together on the stem. They bloom throughout the summer, slowly opening up from the base of the clusters to the top, so the whole cluster is never in bloom all at once. Each little flower opens before sunrise and closes by the hottest part of the day, so to see its flowers in their full splendor, you’ll have to be up with the morning birds.
Though Mullein is not native to our area, originating in Europe and Asia, its prolific nature and powerful medicinal properties make it invaluable in so many ways. Today it is considered to be naturalized in the US. Since it doesn’t ask much from its growing conditions, it does not compete with plants around it. Mullein kindly extends its taproot deep into the soil, not taking up much space at the surface, breaking up compacted soil, and enriching it by drawing minerals up to the roots of other plants. This taproot also makes the plant impressively drought-resistant, storing food reserves and making the plant more self-sufficient in any environment.
Medicinal Mullein: An Ally When You’re Sick and When You’re Healthy
Mullein has been used medicinally for ages. All parts of the plant can be used, including:
Leaves
It is most well-known for its ability to relieve respiratory distress during a cold, or if you have asthma, by working as an expectorant to break up mucus in your lungs. Mullein can also soothe a sore throat, improve lung health overall, and lower inflammation. It also has antiseptic properties, so it helps prevent the spread of disease-causing germs. Mullein leaves can also be used as a poultice to be applied to a cut, bruised, or bleeding body part. The best part? It has little to no side effects.
Some like to use the dried, crushed leaves as a tobacco substitute to smoke (allegedly to even treat symptoms of asthma!). The effects are said to be mild in comparison to tobacco, but still slightly relaxing. Of course, if you have asthma or lung issues, I would not personally recommend inhaling smoke of any kind.
The fuzzy leaves were historically used as torches and candle wicks, which is why the plant used to be affectionately called Torch Weed centuries ago.
At the end of the summer, you can use the plant’s leaves as mulch for the garden. Mullein leaf mulch contributes valuable organic matter to the soil as the leaves decompose and will also help retain moisture while creating loamy soil and discouraging unwanted weeds from growing up around other plants. Adding to all of these great benefits, Mullein also provides food and a penthouse of a habitat to pollinators and beneficial creatures, contributing to the overall diversity of an ecosystem.
Seed Oil
The lesser-known uses for this glorious plant include being used as an antispasmodic (to treat muscle spasms), aid in reduction of inflammation due to eczema, as well as help with migraines and earaches (the leaves also help with these last two ailments).
Flowers
Mullein flowers can be harvested and used to make a liqueur or cordial. You can also add them to a tea.
The flavor is light and mild, if a bit earthy and honey-sweet. My favorite way to use mullein is to brew it as a concoction of tea and add in mint leaves. I make this tea when I start to feel a cold or similar sickness coming on and it really aids in lessening the symptoms. When I harvest the leaves, I take the largest ones from the bottom, wash them thoroughly, and dry them by laying them out flat on a towel for a couple of weeks. After they’re completely dried, I sometimes crush them, sometimes leave them whole, and store them in a jar until I’m ready to make a pot of tea.
Due to there being so much Mullein around, its low-maintenance nature, and its long list of uses, I always have it on-hand. I’ve only ever used it in the tea recipe, but I’m interested in using the seed oil and flowers in the future, especially since I’m a longtime migraine sufferer. I’ll probably never run out because of how much there is around the farm and in the woods, so if you need some foraged Mullein to try, send me a message and I’d be happy to share. If you can’t find any late-season Mullein to harvest before the winter, be on the lookout in spring, you’re sure to find it not too far away. As always, just be certain it hasn’t come into contact with pesticides or other chemicals before harvesting it (and harvest responsibly, of course!)
I hope you’ve been inspired to try foraging this easy-to-recognize, abundant, multifaceted herb, or to find some for sale in the bulk herb section to try. It’s almost certain to help stave off the winter blues and those sure-to-come winter sickness symptoms.
Thanks for reading, friends. Until next time– which will be soon.
Warmly,
Allyson