MULLEIN
verbascum thapus
verbascum thapsus
Scrophularace



DESCRIPTION
In the first season of the plant's growth, there appears
only a rosette of large leaves, 6 to 15 inches long,
in form somewhat like those of the Foxglove, but thicker
- whitish with a soft, dense mass of hairs
on both sides, which make them very thick to the touch.

In the following spring, a solitary, stout, pale stem,
with tough, strong fibers enclosing a thin rod
of white pith, arises from the midst of the felted leaves.

Its rigid uprightness accounts for some of the plant's local names:
'Aaron's Rod,' 'Jupiter's' or 'Jacob's Staff,' etc.

Leaves near the base of the stem are large and numerous,
6 to 8 inches long and 2 to 2 1/2 inches broad, but become
smaller as they ascend the stem, on which they are arranged
not opposite to one another, but on alternate sides.
They are broad and simple in form, the outline rather waved,
stalkless, their bases being continued some distance down
the stem, as in the Comfrey and a few other plants,
the midrib from a quarter to half-way up the blade
being actually joined to the stem.
By these 'decurrent' leaves
(as this hugging of the stem by the leaves is botanically termed)
the Great Mullein is easily distinguished from other British species
of Mullein - some with white and some with yellow flowers.
The leaf system is so arranged that the smaller leaves above drop
the rain upon the larger ones below, which direct the water to the roots.
This is a necessary arrangement, since the Mullein grows
mostly on dry soils.
The stellately-branched hairs which cover the leaves so thickly
act as a protective coat, checking too great a giving off
of the plant's moisture, and are a defensive weapon of the plant,
for not only do they prevent the attacks of creeping insects but
they set up an intense irritation in the mucous membrane
of any grazing animals that may attempt to browse upon them,
so that the plants are usually left severely alone by them.
The leaves are, however, subject to the attacks of a mold,
Peronospora sordida.
The hairs are not confined to the leaves alone,
but are on every part of the stem, on the calyces and on the outside
of the corollas, so that the whole plant appears whitish or grey.

The homely but valuable Mullein Tea, a remedy
of the greatest antiquity for coughs and colds,
must indeed always be strained through fine muslin
to remove any hairs that may be floating in the hot water
that has been poured over the flowers, or leaves,
for otherwise they cause intolerable itching in the mouth.

Towards the top of the stalk, which grows frequently
4 or even 5 feet high, and in gardens has been known
to attain a heightof 7 or 8 feet, the much-diminished
woolly leaves merge into the thick, densely crowded
flower-spike, usually a foot long, the flowers
opening here and there on the spike, not in regular
progression from the base, as in the Foxglove.

The flowers are stalkless, the sulphur-yellow corolla,
a somewhat irregular cup, nearly an inch across,
formed of five rounded petals, united at the base
to form a very short tube, being enclosed
in a woolly calyx, deeply cut into five lobes.

The five stamens stand on the corolla;
three of them are shorter than the other two and hav
a large number of tiny white hairs on their filaments.
These hairs are full of sap, and it has been suggested
that they form additional bait to the insect visitors, supplementing
the allurement of the nectar that lies round the base of the ovary.

All kinds of insects are attracted by this plant,
the Honey Bee, Humble Bee,
some of the smaller wild bees and different species of flies,
since the nectar and the staminal hairs are both so readily
accessible, though the supply of nectar is not very great.

The three short hairy stamens have only short, one-celled anthers
- the two longer, smooth ones have larger anthers.

The pollen sacs have an orange-red inner surface,
disclosed as the anthers open.
In some species, verbascum nigrum Dark Mullein
verbascum blattaria the Moth Mullein

Filament hairs are purple.
Rounded ovary is hairy, lower part of the style.
The stigma is mature before the anthers and the style projects
at the moment the flower opens, so that any insect approaching
it from another blossom where it has got brushed by pollen,
must needs strike it on alighting and thus insure crossfertilization,
though, failing this, the flower is able to fertilize itself.

The ripened seed capsule is very hard and contains many seeds,
which eventually escape through two valves and are scattered
round the parent plant.

PARTS USED
Leaves and flowers are the parts used medicinally.

Fresh Mullein leaves are used for the purpose
of making a homoeopathic tincture.


ACTIONS
AKA
CONDITIONS
CONSTITUENTS
DESCRIPTION
HERBAL USE
HISTORY
MAGICAL PROPERTIES
MAGICAL USES
MEDICINAL PURPOSES
OIL