A Plant with Lung Power

Although I tend to focus a lot of my plant features on the digestive and nervous system, there is one special plant that has come up a lot in my healing journey and with clients lately. As digestive health often results in difficulties with other systems in the body I thought it important to discuss this beauty. MULLEIN, botanical name: Verbascum thapsus.

Recently I taught about this plant to a group of kids who couldn’t stop touching it. “Melanie can we take a leaf home? I want to touch it again”, they said. This pillow of a plant is a biennial that starts as a basal rosette in the first year and grows into that flower stalk with alternating leaves in the second. Mullein has so much amazing medicine. The leaves are as fuzzy as lamb’s ears and the leaf formation is alternate rather than opposite leaves as in lamb's ears.

Although I tend to focus a lot of my plant features on the digestive and nervous system, there is one special plant that has come up a lot in my healing journey and with clients lately. As digestive health often melts into difficulties with other systems in the body I thought it important to discuss this beauty. MULLEIN, botanical name: Verbascum thapsus.

Recently I taught about this plant to a group of kids who couldn’t stop touching it. “Melanie can we take a leaf home? I want to touch it again”, they said. This pillow of a plant is a biennial that starts as a basal rosette in the first year and grows into that flower stalk with alternating leaves in the second. Mullein has so much amazing medicine. The leaves are fuzzier than lamb’s ears and leaf formation is alternate rather than opposite leaves.

You will find mullein in disturbed soil, roadsides, and lots of polluted areas. Not hard to find but finding it in a place that is okay to gather is another story.

The leaf tincture is excellent for lung problems such as bronchitis, asthma, mucousy cough. Rather than acting as an expectorant it removes mucus through the lymph system. It is soothing just like the leaves allude to and reduces inflammation. The leaves can be made into a tea and then strained to remove the fine hairs or an alcohol tincture. The medicine doesn’t stop there! The flowers can be soaked in oil with garlic for an earache oil with anti-inflammatory. The roots are astringent and great for urinary incontinence and lower back pain with pain relieving and anti-inflammatory properties. The root is best in the fall of second year growth and leaves in the peak of summer. It is also generally a safe herb without precautions.

If you want to experiment with this powerful mullein, an alcohol tincture can be ordered with my affiliate link to support R2R Wellness. If you are local, email me directly [email protected] and I can get you some local mullein tincture :)

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Disclaimer: This information is strictly for education purposes. If you choose to take an herb, speak with your medical professional about possible side effects or precautions.

PUBLISHED: August 17th, 2023 at 10:13 PM EDT

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