I was so excited to discover a Mullein plant that had self seeded in one of my pots that had dirt in it, but had not planted in! What is Mullein you might ask? It is a wonderful medicinal herb that has very helpful in healing bronchial issues. (That is how I have always used it.) But it has lots of other uses too. Mullein is a biannual herb, it runs in a two year cycle of growth. Each year, you harvest different parts of the plant.
Whenever, I research an herb, I like to use multiple resources. I found this to be a very valuable principal to follow. In doing so, I get a better rounded understanding of the plant, its uses, its environment, etc. Some resources will mention one thing while others will mention others. Often information is repeated...which tells you that that information is the strongest most dominant information...but so often it is the "extras" that help you see the FULL picture. Sometimes you may even come across things that may seem contradictory...so that is also something that alerts you to research that aspect further to get a better handle on WHY their was a contradiction and how that may apply to your usage and experience. Speaking of pictures...The more you see the herb in its different stages and settings, the better you become at recognizing it in the wild! Your eye becomes keener to the things to watch for. At first, it may look like every other weed...but that changes after you have seen it lots of different pictures of it. Also, by using different resources, the repetitious information seeds itself more strongly in you in a way that does NOT SEEM boring or drab because it is worded differently or in a different format - things like that. It makes the learning process more "interesting" for me. The best teaching is interacting with herb in person, that will soon come when you are able to recognize it! Once you see, taste, touch, and smell that plant it will become as familiar to you as a rose or a dandelion!
Here are some simple examples of that with reasearching the plant Mullein to share with you. While I can't share my home library with you or let most of you come touch my precious little gift that seeded in my pot, I can share with you "internet style". These are not all the places I have explored online, but it will illustrate my point and you will probably learn a thing or two about Mullein, even if it is something you are familiar with...I know I did.
Articles:Mullein at a Glance
Wildman Steven Brill on Mullein
HerbCraft.org
Videos:
Mullein in the fall:
Crazy Cool Survival Uses for Mullein!
This post was shared on the Preparedness Challenge
7 comments:
I was looking at the plant thinking, hmm, I've seen this before. Apparently they "thrive in disturbed areas of the South Texas Plains and the Edwards Plateau" (according to a website). Well, that explains that; I live in the Edward's Plateau region! :). Hmm, I'm going to have to keep an eye for it and maybe I can figure out a way to transport it when we move???
Phyllis,
Yes, Mullein is one of those things you can find everywhere in the US! It is such a distinct looking (and feeling) plant too, that it becomes very easy to spot.
You can buy seeds and grow it too, but it is prevelant in the wild. If you find some, just take the seeds from that top stalk where the flowers were...that would move easier than the plant. :-)
Englishman's foot...my son says the soldiers would put it in the soles of their shoes..is that the same...cant watch videos now...I just dug up lots of dandelions, and wild ginger, plantain...still trying to identify stuff here in the Ozarks, but lots of mullein here too:)
so looked up and englishman's foot is plantain...also I have heard it as white mans foot print...but mullein was used as I said in shoes..."Soft and thick Mullein leaves were worn in the shoes to improve circulation to the feet and to buffer thinning soles"
oh fun stuff ;)
Tamra,
You HAVE to take me looking for while ginger when you get here!!! Promise...Promise... (Abba Willing of course.) It is on BOLD on my (very long list of things) to identify and harvest. I have SO much woods here on the property - I HAVE to have ginger in there, don't I? I am told it is in our area. I know it likes shady wooded areas. I am not finding good resources to give me confidence in identifying it myself(it looks so similar to other things) I have been praying for someone who KNOWS to point it out to me! Then I will do all the usuals to get really familiar with it. (Touch, taste, smell, etc.) Please say yes!!!
@Pamela Thank you for the advice! I have a very brown, almost black, thumb (LOL). So transferring a seed is MUCH more desirable to me! I will definitely have to figure this one out. :).
@HebrewHerbMaiden Oh neat! Sounds like the "Herbal Dr. Scholl's". Hehehe. My husband is constantly on his feet, so maybe I will have to try it out on him when I get a hold of this stuff. :).
Next time we go on a hike it will be on the front of my mind!
Oh, definitely a blessing to have that in your pot! I'm hoping to order some Mullein seeds since I have not found any around here (although I'm going to keep looking). In the meantime, I ordered dried Mullein leaves from Azure so that I could make a tea for my husband's bronchitis.
I really appreciated your counsel on looking at various sources to learn to identify the plant. I find that it take repeated exposure to the plant to really "get it". Thanks for linking up today!
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