Ozark Wildflowers - Mullein in the Winter

in ozarkwildflowers •  7 years ago 

20180121_161314.jpg
Verbascum thapsus

Mullein is a biennial herb that blooms from May to September. It is found in dry fields, pastures, disturbed ground and along roadsides. It is actually native to Europe, but has been established in the Ozarks. It can grow up to 6 feet tall!

Our sheep ate the stalks of the mullein in their field before they even had a chance to grow much, but left the leaves alone. So sheep don't eat mullein. Good to know!

This is such an amazing plant. I can't go too much into its medicinal benefits as there are just too many and I am far from an expert. It can be used to treat many different lung diseases, diarrhea, insomnia, and pain. It is also used to treat coughs. Settlers even used the large, soft leaves as baby diapers.

The leaves also make great toilet paper when you find you forgot to pack some while camping or hiking! Haha!

20180121_160820.jpg

Here are some macro shots of the fine hairs on the leaves.

20180121_160835.jpg

20180121_160841.jpg

It's so very soft. My mom often mistakes it for the plant called Lamb's Ear...which it is not. They are not the same.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by! I hope you and yours are happy and well! Stay tuned!

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

World of Photography Beta V1.0
>Learn more here<

Thank you for participating in #macrophotography, the weekly selection will be released on Friday.

You have earned 5.15 XP for sharing your photo!

Daily Stats
Daily photos: 1/2
Daily comments: 0/5
Multiplier: 1.03
Server time: 05:43:07
Account Level: 0
Total XP: 21.35/100.00
Total Photos: 3
Total comments: 6
Total contest wins: 0
When you reach level 1 you will start receiving up to two daily upvotes

Follow: @photocontests
Join the Discord channel: click!
Play and win SBD: @fairlotto
Learn how to program Steem-Python applications: @steempytutorials
Developed and sponsored by: @juliank

I like your post brother

Like 😊

Even though I know there aren't many truly useless plants, I thought that mullein was one of them. In almost every area where we hike and pick wild blackberries and raspberries, mullein grows pretty thick. I'm definitely looking more into this today. Thanks so much for the information, @hethur240!

YES! Do! It's an amazing plant, and not just for its toilet paper uses. ;) Haha!