Meteria Medica: The Power of Plants as Medecine
Instructor: Feather Jones

Common Names: Candlewick, Blanket Leaf, Gordolobo

Description: Biennial, first leaf has basal rosette, second year develops a flowering stalk, a tall stem (3’ to 6’) with spike of yellow flowers and alternate leaf; all parts are fuzzy, downy and flannel-like; yellow sap turns black where plant has been bruised or pierced. Usually has single stalk but may forn several branches if growing season is long or growing area is polluted to cause stunting of original stalk.

It grows along roadsides, disturbed soil area, vacant lots, talus slopes and is common between Juniper/Pinyon and Ponderosa belts. A native to Europe, Asia, Britian and U.S., Verbascum is latin for bearded, resembling shaggy foliage and felt-like quality. Mullein is french for soft.

Constituents: Saponines (expectorant properties), glycosides (aucubin, verbascose), tannins, mucilage, gum, yellow volitile oil, fatty acid, malic and phosphoric acids, uncrystallized sugar, 1 to 2% resin, flavanoids (verbascoside and hesperidin).

Properties: Expectorant (amphoteric – will stimulate or relax, the body will determine what is necessary, acting as a normalizer), emollient and demulcent; antispasmodic to chest muscles; nervine; respitoray sedative (relaxing bronchial spasms); mildly diaphoretic; diuretic and urinary tract astringent; mucilaginous (protects mucus membranes against allergens being absorded and creating distress); vulnerary, pectoral (general strengthening of respitory system); anti-trussive.

Medicinal Action: Leaf: As expectorant, it assits in expelling mucus from lungs and trout; demulcent properties work externally to soothe and coolt hot, irritated surfaces and internally to relax and soothe tissues of the G.I. tract and triggers reflex mechanisms that travel through the spinal cord effectively reducing inflammation and irritation in repiratory system and urinary tract. It tones the mucus membranes of repiratory system, reducing inflammation and facilitating expectoration. A specific for bronchitis with a hard cough ans soreness and those paraxyomal coughs in taryngitis and pertussis. The leaf and flower is also used in pulmonary consumption and initial stags of lung infections where there is fever, raspy throat and a hot dry feeling in the chest, for all nervous and bronchial irritations easing the cough. Saponins are disinfecting to lungs; used in chest colds, asthma, emphysema, whooping cough; used in India as bateriostatic to treat tuberculosis for centuries; lymphatic congestion resulting in toothaches.

Flowers: Make an oil for earaches, otitis media and external auditory canal problems; pets with ear mites; frostbite; hemmorhoids and rough dry cracked skin. Flowers are best picked early morning before pollination, more energetic; yields a yellow dye – ancient Roman women made their hair golden, still used for aroma in some liquors and cosmetic preparations.

Root: Used for cramps, as a tincture with vinegar for toothaches; astringent to urinary tract and wil increase tone to trigone at base of bladder finding uses incontinence (bedwetting); used in urinary tract irritation with painful micturation (all plant parts).

Externally: Compress: for hemmorhoids, roundworms (verbascose – antiseptic properties)

Ointment: Mullien flowers with Penstemon flowers – for skin fissures, dry heels and fingers and slow healing wounds, the fatty matter found in the flower reduces swelling and pain.

Body Oil: will give dry skin elastin properties and retain firmness

Smoking Mixture: for asthma mic with Coltsfoot and Lobelia; Pueblo people used for dry hacking cough

Ear Oil: with Garlic and Calendula oil, 2 to 5 drops 3xday

Toxcity: Free of toxicity; may cause skin and throat irritation during gathering due to tiny hairs; homeopathically 30 to 40 ounces a day causes vertigo, tearing, drawing in the ear; narcotic to brain and irritation to 7^th cervical nerves. Wears off in about 2 hours – Hahnemann experiments.

History: Dioscorides recommended the plant several hundred years ago; originally used in lamp wicks – "Candlewick Plant", witches used these wicks in their lamps during incantations and has the power to drive away evil spirits; seeds will intoxicate fish and were thrown in the water for fishing.