Folk Medicine
Latin name: Verbasci flos 3
Usable parts: Mainly the flowers, as well as parts of the leaves
Harvest period: From July to mid-August
Constituents: Saponin, sapogenin, invert sugar, cane sugar, mucilage, essential oil, fat, xanthophylls, hesperidin, potassium3
Action: Emollient, expectorant, anti-cough, blood and skin purifying, diuretic, calming, antispasmodic, diaphoretic.3
Application: Tea brewed with its flower is often used to treat persistent coughing, promoting expectoration of mucus, inhibiting inflammation, and facilitates breathing. The floral infusion can also be used to treat inflammation of the urinary tract.6, 16
Risk of misidentification: Verbascum thapsus, Verbascum nigrum
Tips for Domestic Cultivation
The mullein is undemanding provided it resides in a warm sunny position. After sowing in Spring, the germinating seeds require abundant sunlight to grow. It takes a year for the tall inflorescence to form. Legend has it that the length of the inflorescence corresponds to the duration of the coming winter.
Home Use /Recipe Idea
Mullein tincture3
Fill a wide-necked screw-top glass jar with 40% proof alcohol and place it under a flowering plant. Each day, harvest the flowers that have blossomed on the previous day and soak them under the alcohol in the jar. Repeat until the jar is filled. Seal the jar and leave to infuse for four weeks. Shaking the jar repeatedly during the infusion period facilitates the extraction of the ingredients, allowing them to imbue the tincture.
The liquid can be drizzled on sugar cubes, as a cure for coughs.
3 “Die Kräuter in meinem Garten” by Siegrid Hirsch & Felix Grünberger; 22nd Edition; Freya Verlag Gmbh
6 “Heilkräuter die Apotheke der Natur“ by Gottfried Hochgruber; 2nd Edition, 2018; Longo Editor AG
16 “Heilpflanzen für die Gesundheit” by Annekatrin Puhle, Jürgen Trott-Tschepe, Consultant: Birgit Möller (pharmacist); 2013 Franckh-Kosmos Verlag-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart