Verbascum

Two species of Verbascum (V) that I'm familiar with are V thapsus and V olympicum. Far as I know they are interchangeable in herbal preparations. The entire plant may be used and GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe), except seeds which contain toxic substances to fish and mammals. The roots are reported to be most helpful for pain management but I have only used dried leaves and flowers regularly. Most Mullein species I know of are biennial, forming a rosette of leaves the first year and rising up with a flowering stalk the second, though there have been reports from various parts of the world that Mulleins are flowering on first year plants from seed. Prefers a neutral to slightly alkaline, well draining soil.

Mullein is most commonly known for being used to support lung health but there are references in PubMed studies pointing to pain management. I will include link at the bottom to PubMed search results. Besides Elderberry World, I also Admin the Mullein World Facebook Group if you are interested in joining us. V thapsus, Common Mullein or Great Mullein. Can be found growing wild on the high, dry areas. It doesn't like wet feet. Commonly forms a single flowering spike in the second year of growth, sets seed and dies. May form multiple smaller flowering spikes along the main spike, similar to V densiflorum, especially if the main flowering spike is cut or damaged.

I harvest large leaves which are mostly free of dirt, brown spots and anything else that doesn't look good. They are sprayed off in my kitchen sink to remove dirt and/or bugs, set out on towels to mostly dry and placed in my indoor Hanging Herb Drying Rack to dry slowly, out of the sun. Takes about a week for them to be ready for Super Tea!

After watching that video, I was convinced I wanted to grow Greek Mullein in my back yard. I read in various places that Greek Mullein may tolerate more damp soil conditions than Common Mullein. This is good since our yard is very wet most of the year except in summer dry spells. I needed to re-do my raised bed blackberry patch anyway so all the undesirable blackberry variety I had tried to grow were removed, roots and all. A five pound bag of garden lime was added and 5,000 Greek Mullein Seeds were sown during winter by simply scattering them on the surface of the newly prepared raised bed. The seeds require light to germinate and this is how they look today, 7/2/22.