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Verbascum thapsus
| Common name: |
Great Mullein |
Family: |
Scrophulariaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
The leaves contain rotenone and coumarin, though the quantities are not given[222]. Rotenone is used as an insecticide and coumarin can prevent the blood from clotting[K].
Hairs on the leaves can act as an irritant[222]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to Spain, temperate Asia to China. |
| Habitat: |
Sunny positions in uncultivated fields and waste ground, especially on dry soils[7, 13, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Adam's Flannel [H], Beggar's Blanket [H], Bonhomme [E], Borraja [E], Common Mullein [H,P,L,S], Flannel Mullein [E], Flannel Plant [H], Gordolobo [S,E], Great Mullein [H,L,MS,B], Jupiter's Staff [H], Koningskaars [D], Molene [E], Mullein [E,S], Pano [E], Punch& oacute n [S], Sigirkuyrugu [E], Velvet Dock [H], Velvet Plant [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
thapsus = from (Magnisi) Sicily
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Chile
Dominican Republic Eurasia Europe Haiti India Spain Turkey Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Appalachia) Us(Colonial) Us(Flathead) Us(Potawatomi)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Colorado, Hawaii, Washington, Victoria. |
Physical Characteristics
Biennial growing to 1.8m. It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Tea.
An aromatic, slightly bitter tea can be made by infusing the dried
leaves in boiling water for 5 - 10 minutes[183].
A sweeter tea can be made by infusing the fresh or dried flowers[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anodyne
Antiseptic Astringent Demulcent Emollient Expectorant Homeopathy Narcotic Odontalgic Vulnerary.
Great mullein is a commonly used domestic herbal remedy, valued for its
efficacy in the treatment of pectoral complaints[4]. It acts by reducing the
formation of mucus and stimulating the coughing up of phlegm, and is a
specific treatment for tracheitis and bronchitis[254].
The leaves and the flowers are anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic,
antispasmodic, astringent, demulcent, diuretic, emollient, expectorant and
vulnerary[4, 7, 13, 21, 46, 53, 165, 222]. An infusion is taken internally in
the treatment of a wide range of chest complaints and also to treat
diarrhoea[4, 238]. The plant combines well with other expectorants such as
coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris)[254]. Externally, a
poultice of the leaves is a good healer of wounds and is also applied to
ulcers, tumours and piles[4, 222, 254]. Any preparation made from the leaves
needs to be carefully strained in order to remove the small hairs which can
be an irritant[7]. The plant is harvested when in flower and is dried for
later use[238].
An infusion of the flowers in olive oil is used as earache drops, or as a
local application in the treatment of piles and other mucous membrane
inflammations[4, 222, 238]. This infusion is also strongly bactericidal[4].
A decoction of the roots is said to alleviate toothache and also relieve
cramps and convulsions[4].
The juice of the plant and powder made from the dried roots is said to
quickly remove rough warts when rubbed on them[4]. It is not thought to be so
useful for smooth warts[4].
The seeds are slightly narcotic and also contain saponins[4]. A poultice
made from the seeds and leaves is used to draw out splinters[4]. A decoction
of the seeds is used to soothe chilblains and chapped skin[7].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh leaves[4]. It is used in the
treatment of long-standing headaches accompanied with oppression of the
ear[4]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Dye
Insecticide Insulation Lighting Tinder Wick.
A yellow dye is obtained from the flowers by boiling them in water[4].
When used with dilute sulphuric acid they produce a rather permanent green
dye, this becomes brown with the addition of alkalis[4, 13, 100, 168]. An
infusion of the flowers is sometimes used to dye the hair a golden colour[4,
200].
The flowering stems can be dipped in wax and used as torches[53, 106, 124].
The down on the leaves and stems makes an excellent tinder when quite dry[4,
53, 115]. It is also used as an insulation in shoes to keep the feet warm[4,
200] and to make wicks for candle[1, 4, 13, 100, 115, 124].
One report says that the leaves contain rotenone, though it does not say in
what quantity[222]. Rotenone is used as an insecticide[K].
Cultivation details
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most well-drained soils,
including dry ones, and prefers a sunny position[200]. Dislikes shade and wet
soils[200]. Thrives on chalk[200]. Prefers a light soil[200].
Hybridizes with other members of this genus, though the progeny are usually
sterile[200].
A very ornamental plant, it often self-sows, especially on dry calcareous
soils[53, 124].
Propagation
Seed - sow late spring to early summer in a cold frame and only just
cover the seed[200]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks. When
they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots
and plant them out in late summer. The seed has a long viability[200].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] SW USA Dist. Maps
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for verbascum thapsus (a possible synonym).
References for the family Scrophulariaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden.
Interesting reading.
[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[124] RHS. The Garden. Volume 113. Royal Horticultural Society 1988
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Verbascum+thapsus
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