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Mulling over mullein

Blog: Culture Check

March 22, 2010

Huge patches of the upright mullein plant sprout at the edges of roads and tilled fields. But I don't know of any really practical use for a cut plant -- not the stalk or leaves or flowers. This specific mullein plant grows on a bank of the Columbia River at Daroga State Park, north of Orondo. The squiggles of reflection are from gleaming high tension wires suspended over the river near Earthquake Point.

Apparently, mullein is chock full o' coumarin, the blood thinner that's used in Coumadin. Mullein seeds are packed with the stuff, so don't even think about eating them or you'll risk serious kidney and liver damage. Get this ... the drug is also a key component in rat poison.

I'm wondering, however, if anyone around here has a day-to-day use for the plant? Did Native Americans?

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feil 2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

Mike, When I worked for the Forest Service I learned (not from experience, mind you) that mullein leaves are supposed to be a good stand in for toilet paper, ooh, and also padding for shoes. The weed (it's not a native) does have a few redeeming qualities. Rochelle

irwin 2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

Ha! Mullein leaves are kind of fuzzy and soft, so the practical uses you mention make perfect sense. Better than, say, holly leaves. Thanks for the tips.

2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

The dried stalks make a good pretend spear if you're a boy of six or seven. Once that wears off they are good for pretend duels. As an adult, however, they are mostly a nuisance around the yard and deserve a good shot of Glyphosate before the rosette bolts to the heavens.

2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

mullein is chock full o' coumarin, the blood thinner that's used in Coumadin.< Warfarin is a highly potent synthetic derivative of the naturally occuring coumarin and it is warfarin that is the active ingredient in Coumadin®. Hard to believe that some heart-attack and stroke patients will spend the rest of their lives taking small daily doses of rat poison just to stay alive. Mullein, otoh, is considered a wild herb and has several naturopathic and medicinal uses if you're into that sort of "medicinal herb" mindset: http://www.answers.com/topic/mullein?method=26&initiator=CANS

joanne 2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

Every day I learn something new. I wonder if I could get my gophers to eat it? No, it would kill my cat. KittyKitty has removed two gophers already this spring. I wonder if they are the ones responsible for the seven large gopher mounds in my grassy area?

2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

I wonder if I could get my gophers to eat it? < Best to gas those gophers with a couple tablets of Aluminum Phosphide in their hole. That way Kitty is safe--even if she eats one of the affected gophers.

2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

Well, Ms. Songbird, I had not envisioned you as being that uncivilized and barbaric. Have you no compassion for subterranean Rodentia? :-D

irwin 2 years, 2 months ago

Mulling over mullein

Toilet paper, shoe pads, spears, gopher repellant and incineration — all creative suggestions for the mullein plant. Many Web sites note the medicinal uses of the plant. Here's a catch-all article on how to ingest it (somewhat) safely.

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-use-Mullein

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