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Literature is full of its uses, some of which are contradictory. One source states that wearing mullein leaves ensures conception. (How or where would one wear mullein?) I also read that placing mullein leaves in the shoes prevented conception! Take your pick. I wouldn't recommend putting either theory to the test.
It is also recorded th$t wearing the woolly leaves in shoes was known to keep feet warm in winter. This makes sense.
Stripped of leaves and flowers, the tall spikes were dipped in tallow and used as torches in religious processions to repel witches. Another bit of folklore, also a paradox, states that mullein was important and useful to witches.
Medicinally, mullein was used by the Greeks to cure respiratory ailments; this is continued in some countries today. Smoking mullein leaves was prescribed as a remedy for asthma and coughs.
In American folklore, mullein was called "Quaker rouge," for it was believed that rubbing the woolly leaves on the cheeks made them glow. I tried that. It works too well. I felt I had rubbed my face with sandpaper.
In Roman times, a yellow dye from the flowers served as a rinse to color hair. Oil from the yellow flowers has been used for earache.
There is more, but that is enough! I will only add that, in laboratory tests, extracts of mullein show a strong anti-inflammatory activity.
One sure thing is that mullein is here to stay. It is a survivor of the plant world, as are starlings and house sparrows in the world of birds.
Write Virginia naturalist John Trott care of this newspaper: P.O. Box 59, Washington, Va., 22747.
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