Common, Confusing, Mullein
I’ve seen this tall, blooming plant countless times from the car. It always looks alien to me — exotic, like it shouldn’t be growing wild in Maryland. But it does! And apparently, not only is it invasive, but its debatably edible and medicinal.
(Please note, I have neither eaten nor treated myself with Common Mullein and I am not a doctor, pharmacist, or plant chemist. So use at your own risk. And read this whole post, which talks about the risks of identifying plants yourself.)
Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus, likes to grow in open sunny fields. It varies in height, from a foot to eight or ten feet once mature. It has fuzzy silver-grey leaves, rather like an African Violet in texture. They can be quite large at the base, even more than a foot long and ten inches wide. In the plant’s first year of life, they form a low rosette. In its second year, it develops the distinctive flower stalk on top with yellow flowers that you see here. The seeds are copious, black, and tiny. After that it dies.
Apparently in the right conditions, it can completely take over a field. It’s particularly prone to doing this after a fire has cleared away other plants. I’ve only seen it relatively isolated in Maryland, but I have not been looking for it. I also unfortunately don’t spend my life tramping through fields cataloging plants.
It apparently originates in Asia and North Africa.
Here you can see the yellow flowers a bit more clearly.
Now this is the tricky part. Is this plant edible or medicinal?
There is definitely a plant called Common Mullein that is medicinal. The flowers are made into tea and it seems to be used widely for colds and other upper respiratory problems. Common Mullein tea is sold at Mountain Rose Herbs, an online vendor which has a good reputation. However, the Mullein they are selling is actually Verbascum sinuatum, not Verbascum thapsus. thapsus is definitely the version we have growing wild around here. Verbascum sinuatum is definitely a closely related plant with yellow flowers, but it is not the same as Verbascum thapsus.
But I do find sources stating that Verbascum thapsus is medicinal. Wild Man Steve Brill is a very reliable source and he states that the flower petals of thapsus are edible as a tea. It’s also apparently a good safe cough remedy/expectorant and properly prepared can help with ear infections, diarrhea and hemorrhoids.
Some people state that the leaves as well as the flowers make good tea and salad, but it is just the flower petals that are being sold online. I don’t see the leaves being described as edible in a very reliable source, so I would stick to the flower petals. They may just not taste as good as the petals.
Be warned — other articles refer to Common Mullein seeds being used to stun fish for easy harvest. So be reminded that while some parts of a plant may be edible, others may be poisonous. In case you didn’t get that, don’t eat the seeds. One lengthy post talked about making oils and tinctures for sore muscles from the roots.
Fun fact — the leaves are so thick and fuzzy that an alternate name for this plant is Cowboy Toilet Paper. I read that it does make good toilet paper if you wipe with the grain of the hairs on the plant, not against!
There are a couple of other names for the plant that hint at other uses — Adam’s Flannel, Beggar’s Blanket, and such. Apparently the thick, fuzzy leaves make decent thermal insulation in a tight spot. Finally, the stem is easy to light on fire using friction methods.
