I see it growing beside highways and in the woods. I never thought about it being particularly important because it looks like a weed. It’s leaves are a soft, blurry kind of gray-green and its bloom pods have tiny yellow flowers and not many of them blossom at the same time. It goes by the name of mullein and it actually is an herb but masks its importance in a common sort of appearance. I had one or two at Manos Meadows, and I dug up some to transplant here in Arkansas. It didn’t work. The poor little transplant died. After I’ve read about it, I understand why. It has a very long taproot and it would be hard to dig up the whole thing.
Someone once said that an herb is simply a weed with an attitude. Good definition. For many years, herbs have fascinated me. I wonder if it’s in my genes? I got an interest in herbs from both my dad’s and my mom’s families. Granny Day knew a lot about herbs and what was good for which ailment. Alas! She didn’t write down any of this knowledge so it was lost when she died. All I know about herbs is that they smell wonderful, have charming names, and need very little encouragement to grow (except the mullein who doesn’t like to be disturbed.) Herbs are the original aromatherapy. When I’m down on my knees, pulling weeds and being sure the herbs are comfortable, the fragrance all around me does wonders for my state of mind. It’s nearly impossible to feel burdened when sniffing a basil plant. And the mints? Well, they bring visions of tea time and old-fashioned ladies sitting down with dainty china cups of steaming tea. And then, of course sage has a close and delicious association with Thanksgiving and Christmas.While I’m down there, on my knees anyway, it’s a good time to pray.
I’ve learned a few things about that nondescript-looking plant called the mullein. It lives only two years, sad to say, but not to worry! Its seeds last for a century. Oh, and by the way, one plant can have as many as 100,000 seeds. It can’t grow in the shade, sometimes hummingbirds use its leaves for a nest (now I would think they’d need only a snippet of a leaf since the whole leaf would cover several hummingbird homes) and the mullein stalk is an indicator of the condition of the soil. A tall, straight plant means good soil. A crooked stalk is a danger signal for contaminated soil.
I have one lonely stalk of mullein. It is another of those surprise flowers (I have a lot of floral surprises!) that came up with my hollyhocks. Maybe it was lonely and needed the company of other tall stalks around it. And I’ve been watching it grow. Yesterday, I was trying to move some wire that it had grown through and broke off part of the stalk, the part with the flower. So I brought in the stalk, put it in water, picked off the flowers and put them and a couple of inches of olive oil into a jar. When the oil is properly infused, it is supposed to be a good skin softener. I’ll let you know how that comes out. I’ve never tried it before but didn’t want the flowers to go to waste.
Anyway, that’s the story of the mullein in my back yard. My yard is a non-scripted place of flowers that just decide to come up here or there and when they do, I welcome them. So my yard would never win a picture in Better Homes & Gardens. but I like the plants that, for whatever reason, decide to call it home. I wonder how I could work a mullein plant into the plot for a mystery?
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