I finally found Mullein!!!!!!!!!!
Last year in early summer or late spring I took a class on medicinal herbs at our local state park and one of the herbs we learned about is Mullein and they had some growing at the park and I knew it was native to my area so when I got home I looked and looked for it. I searched the woods on our property and hiked and hiked looking for some because I was convinced that there had to be some here but I never did find any. Well, a couple days ago my sister and I were taking my young niece for a walk in her stroller and guess what, we saw Mullein!!! and it was on my cousin's property! I knew he would not mind if I harvested it but I still made sure to ask first. I never take something from someone else's property without asking unless it is one of my goats that wandered off. I was sure it was mullein also because I have been obsessed with finding some and was very confident it what it looks like.
These had flowering stalks so I knew they were not first year. The first year they grow they do not have flowering stalks, they just have the fuzzy leaves, which are pictured below.
I put some of the flowers in a jar with some olive oil to make some earache drops. I absolutely love natural remedies and I am very excited about finding this and will remember where I found it so that next year maybe I will be as lucky.
And just for fun here is a picture of my favorite gloves~ they are the only ones I can find that fit my small hands.
Blessings to all!!
~April
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This is great! I have 2 large plants growing on my property. How do I make the earache drops? Leaves and flowers? Proportion of leaves to oil? Found your site from The Barn Hop! Will be back often! Thanks for posting!
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ReplyDeleteI am so delighted that you enjoyed my blog! I just researched a little more on the earache drops and I remembered wrong. You are supposed to use the flowers not the leaves for earache drops. Sorry about that. It has been awhile since the class. I am glad you asked about that.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to do more herbs for natural purposes but haven't. Since reading your post, I've been searching for this on our property and just along the roads as I'm driving. I've found some!! I'll have to research it and try harvesting some of this. I'm super excited to try it out. Can it be used for anything else?
ReplyDeleteYes Mullein has many uses from what I read. I will have to look it up in my herb book and see exactly what they are. I know you can brew a tea from the leaves and I will look to see what it is used for. I am glad you found some, isn't it exciting to come across things in nature that can be used for our good?
ReplyDeleteMary I am sorry it took me so long to get back to you but according to my Peterson Field Guide mullein can be used as a tea as an expectorant, demucent, antipasmodic, diuretic, for chest colds, asthma, bronchitis, coughs, kidney infections; leaves poulticed for ulcers, tumors, piles; flowers soaked in olive or mineral oil are used as earache drops. It also has a warning that the leaves contain rotenone and coumarin, and neither are viewed with great favor by the FDA.
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