Great God Mullein

Great Mullein | Coinnle Muire | Verbascum thapsus is [triffid alert] an arresting part of the Ireland's native flora. Up to 2m tall with pale greyn furry leaves as big as a Sasquatch boot-sole and distinctive upstanding reproductive parts. Sometime last year, one of our slightly-woo friends dug up a specimen up and gave it to The Beloved. It was deposited in a packing crate [because it came with a large ragged clot of top-soil] in a corner of the polytunnel and more or less forgotten. Occasionally over the last 12 months, I've dumped a bucket of water into the crate and most if it has run straight through to make a temporary downhill puddle.

But in mid-May, I discovered some poppies Cailleach dhearg Papaver rhoeas struggling in the same adverse xerophytic desert corner of the tunnel. Poppies are the best of weeds, growing in most unlikely places and producing culinary seed - I like poppies. I started clearing around the poppies until The Beloved stopped me with "Whoa, sunshine, that's my mullein you're messing with". So I stopped hacking at the leaves and we carried the crate outside. Later the great mullein (just beginning to show yellow flower) was re-installed with honour in our largest blue-glazed earthenware planter on the recently de-thatched patio in front of the house. Now that I can reach my log-table without getting wet socks, I am resolved to sit out beside the mighty mullein with my morning quart of tea.

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland BSBI publishes distribution maps of most-all of the plants found on these islands: herrrre's Mullein [map L] the darker the square, the more recently that species has been observed in that 10x10 km location. The Sunny South East seems to be the epicentre of V. thapsus's plan to take over the island and reduce mere people to Those Who Serve Mullein. But that recent activity may be all down to the indefatigable Paul Green populating his Flora of County Wexford [bloboprev]. 

The medical take seems to be that mullein is mostly harmless. If you choose to extract the active principles [saponins, polyphenols] from the leaves by steeping them in hot or cold oil, then you're not going to kill anyone. But you're unlikely to cure asthma bronchitis congestion dropsy eczema frostbite gout . . . either. Part of the problem is that there are 250 species in the Genus Verbascum and folk-practitioners may be using them inter-changeably. Some known anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial compounds have been isolated from some of these species. Maybe it will be as effective for me to commune with the The Mullein (while having tea, like) to spare my life when they uproot and take over the world.

God? Verbascum blattaria moth mullein seems to be immortal. The Beal weed-seed longevity project 1879-2100 is still going.  2021 Seedlings upcommmming.