- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Europe, North Africa and Asia; brought to North America by settlers. Verbascum thapsus
Europe · Herb · № 102
Verbascum thapsus
Herb · Europe
Great mullein
Verbascum thapsus
Leaves and flowers contain mucilage and are traditionally used for irritating coughs and bronchitis; the flower oil for earache. Clinical evidence is limited.
Safety notes
Strain tea through cloth: the hairs irritate the throat and mouth. Have earache in children or a possibly perforated eardrum checked by a doctor first.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: No ear drops with a perforated eardrum.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: Do not smoke with lung disease.
- Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine: Strain out the fine hairs; diphtheria and mumps need a doctor.
Preparation
Leaf and flower as tea (strained well); flowers infused in oil. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
The dried stalks were dipped in fat and used as torches. After it reached America, several Indigenous peoples such as the Navajo took it into their own medicine.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Expectorant, soothing, mildly diuretic, calming, wound-healing, astringent, anti-inflammatory.
Preparation and amount
Flower syrup 5–10 ml for chronic hard cough; gargle for throat, tonsil and laryngeal inflammation; tincture up to 20 ml a day for dry chest complaints (with eyebright for hay fever); cold-infused oil as ear drops for ear infection and as an ointment for wounds, haemorrhoids and eczema; strong leaf tea (50 g in 500 ml) for chronic cough.
Caution: No ear drops with a perforated eardrum.
Western herbalism
Attributed effects
Leaf: pain-relieving, antibacterial, antispasmodic, soothing, expectorant, wound-healing; flower: antispasmodic, soothing, calming; moistens the airways (dry/chronic cough, asthma), against earache, supports connective tissue and joints, calms the nerves.
Preparation and amount
Tea: 1–2 tsp per cup, 10 min covered, 1–3 cups a day; syrup 2–4 tsp a day; tincture 1–2 dropperfuls 3–6 times a day; ear drops (flower oil, optionally with garlic) 1–3 drops twice a day.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
For a blocked nose and asthma; for swellings, mumps and toothache. A leaf in the shoe against foot odour.
Preparation and amount
Smoke dried leaves; lay a warmed leaf on a swelling.
Caution: Do not smoke with lung disease.
Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine
Attributed effects
As a cough syrup, scalded leaves on swollen glands and around the neck for mumps, a poultice on the throat for diphtheria, for 'female trouble', and for the kidneys.
Preparation and amount
A decoction of the leaf with honey or brown sugar; scalded leaves externally.
Caution: Strain out the fine hairs; diphtheria and mumps need a doctor.