204 



SCROPHULARIACEtE. 



some of them acrid, and others possess narcotic properties, so that it is 

 difficult to characterize them in general terms. 



VERBASCUM. —Mullein. 



Verbascum Thapsus Linne". — Common Mullein. 

 Description. — Calyx 5-parted. Corolla slightly concave, wheel-shaped, 

 5-lobed, the lobes slightly irregular. Stamens 5, three of them with woolly 



filaments, the others glabrous. 

 Style flattened at the apex. Pod 

 globular, many-seeded. 



A stout, erect biennial, simple 

 or branched above, 2 to 4 feet 

 high, densely clothed with soft 

 woolly hairs. Leaves oblong, 

 pointed, slightly toothed, nar- 

 rowed at the base into two wings 

 which run down the stem ; the 

 lower ones often petiolate, and 6 

 to 10 inches long. Flowers yel- 

 low, in a dense, woolly, terminal 

 spike, appearing throughout the 

 summer. 



Habitat. — Naturalized from 

 Europe ; common everywhere. 



Parts Used. — The leaves and 

 flowers — not official. 



Constituents. — Both leaves and. 

 flowers contain mucilage ; the 

 flowers yield also a small amount 

 of yellow volatile oil. 



Preparations. — Of the leaves : 

 an infusion ; they are also employed in the preparation of poultices. Of 

 the flowers : an infusion in oil is a popular preparation in some parts of 

 Continental Europe. 



Medical Properties and Uses.— The chief, if not the only medicinal con- 

 stituent of mullein is its mucilage. This being admitted, the indications 

 for the therapeutic use of the plant are plain. It may be employed in all 

 cases requiring demulcents, and, if not as agreeable as some other agents 

 of this class, it will probably be of equal efficacy. The infused oil of the 

 flowers is probably no more active than oil in which flowers have not been 

 infused ; it is used as an embrocation in sprains and bruises. 



Fig. 142. — Verbascum Thapsus. 



