lisa miller 1002

“A flower is a weed seen through joyful eyes.”

– Jonathan Huie

Roman legionnaires used mullein as a torch. They dipped the tall, spear-shaped flower stalks in tallow to light their billets. The thick down of Torch Weed is still used to make candle wicks in parts of Europe.

Because of this downy wool, it was known as Our Lady’s Flannel, Blanket Herb and Beggar’s Flannel in the Middle Ages.

It served as a potent charm against demons. It was used by Ulysses to protect himself from the enchantress Circe. Conversely, it was also regarded as a love herb, because it was used by witches to brew love potions.

Witches also used it as a torch; consequently, it was sometimes called Hag’s Taper. Other names it goes by in various parts of the world are Aaron’s Rod, Jupiter’s Staff, Peter’s Staff, and Shepherd’s Club.

Those trying to wean themselves from tobacco smoked a mixture of mullein, spearmint, sumac and coltsfoot. The mullein treated raspy coughs.

Native to Europe, Verbascum thapsus is a common biennial plant here in Kentucky. You can find it in ditches, meadows and along roadsides. Some view it as a weed, but I can only regard its columns of bright yellow flowers, which can be as tall as six feet, as sunshine made manifest, sent here to brighten our day.

Dioscorides, the Greek physician, prescribed it for lung conditions over 2,000 years ago. Both the leaf and flower have expectorant properties, and can soothe throats and sedate spasms.

The honey-scented flowers flavor liqueurs and yield a skin-softening mucilage. They also reduce inflammation due to eczema, while the seed oil reduces chilblains and treats chapped skin. The root is a diuretic, and a leaf tincture treats both migraine and earache.

The wooly leaf was once used to preserve figs. It was also used as tinder to start fires, and emergency bandages. An infusion of the flowers will highlight fair hair.

Native Americans used the leaf smoke to revive the unconscious – a primitive form of smelling salts. A poultice of fresh pounded leaves was applied to swellings, bruises, and sprains. The crushed seed capsules were used to stun fish.

Research is confirming that the plant’s extracts have antitubercular properties. Modern practitioners recommend a mullein leaf tea for respiratory ailments. Pour a cup of boiling water over a teaspoon of fresh leaves, then filter through cheesecloth – this removes any irritating plant hairs.

Torch Weed hitched a ride with our ancestors to this new world.

Perhaps it knew we would be in need of light?

– A reference librarian, Lisa Karen Miller has been gardening and researching plant lore for many years. Have plant lore to share? Email lisalisa13131313@gmail.com.