Verbascum
| Verbascum | |
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| Wavyleaf Mullein (Verbascum sinuatum) | |
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| Genus: | Verbascum |
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Verbascum, /vɜːrˈbæskəm/;[2] common name mullein (sg. /ˈmʌl[invalid input: 'ɨ']n/[3] (also known as velvet plant) is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean.
Mullein or "Mullein leaf" often refers to the leaves of Verbascum thapsus, the great or common mullein, which is frequently used in herbal medicine.
Description
They are biennial or perennial plants, rarely annuals or subshrubs, growing to 0.5–3 m tall. The plants first form a dense rosette of leaves at ground level, subsequently sending up a tall flowering stem. Biennial plants form the rosette the first year and the stem the following season. The leaves are spirally arranged, often densely hairy, though glabrous (hairless) in some species. The flowers have five symmetrical petals; petal colours in different species include yellow (most common), orange, red-brown, purple, blue, or white. The fruit is a capsule containing numerous minute seeds.
Cultivation
In gardening and landscaping, the mulleins are valued for their tall narrow stature and for flowering over a long period of time, even in dry soils. Many cultivars are available, of which 'Gainsborough',[4]'Letitia'[5] and 'Pink Domino'[6] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Since the year 2000, a number of new hybrid cultivars have come out that have increased flower size, shorter heights, and a tendency to be longer-lived plants. A number have new colors for this genus. Many mulleins are raised from seed, including both the short-lived perennial and biennial types.
Other uses
The plant has a long history of use as a herbal remedy.[7] Although this plant is a recent arrival to North America, Native Americans used the ground seeds of this plant as a paralytic fish poison due to their high levels of rotenone.[citation needed] Verbascum sp. flowers have been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea) or externally (as ointment, tea, baths or compresses) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, veins, gastrointestinal tract, and the locomotor system.[8]
Mullein is the active ingredient in many alternative smoking blends. [citation needed]
It is considered a first-rate drill for use in the hand drill method of friction fire lighting. [citation needed]
Selected species
See also
- Mullein moth, a species in the order Lepidoptera which feeds on Verbascum and other plants.
Notes
- ^ "USDA GRIN Taxonomy". Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ "mullein". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Verbascum 'Gainsborough'". Retrieved June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Verbascum 'Letitia'". Retrieved June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Verbascum 'Pink Domino'". Retrieved June 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Tierra, Michael, C.A., O.M.D. (2003). The Natural Remedy Bible (revised and updated ed.). New York: Pocket Books. pp. 164, 180. ISBN 0-7434-6642-X.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Vogl S, Picker P, Mihaly-Bison J, Fakhrudin N, Atanasov AG, Heiss EH, Wawrosch C, Reznicek G, Dirsch VM, Saukel J, Kopp B. Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine - An unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs. J Ethnopharmacol.2013 Jun13. doi:pii: S0378-8741(13)00410-8. 10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23770053. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23770053
References
- Flora Europaea: Verbascum
- Flora of China: Verbascum
- Davis, P. H., Edmondson, J. R., Mill, R. R., & Parris, B. S., eds. (1978). Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 6: 461.
External links
Texts on Wikisource:
- "Mullein". The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
- "Mullein". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
- "Mullein". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.
- "Mullein". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
- "Mullein". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
- Video of various Mullein uses
- Verbascum.org
