amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, cramps, labour pains. generally as calming, nervine, for convulsions, epilepsy, neurasthnis and other nervous disorders( Atlas, Moscow, 1962); for colds, stones( kidney, bladder, gall-bladder)( Medicina, Moscow, 1965); roots and herb as decoction for tubercular lungs, epilepsy( Moscow University, 1963); decoction of the whole plant for gastric conditions, nervousness, fright, epilepsy, convulsions, female weakness; decoction of the plant in painful and feverish labour after delivery; in female sickness as diuretic and abortive( Bello-Russ. Academy of Science, 1965). Externally: Decoction of Nastoika( with vodka) for inflammations of mucous membranes, wounds and ulcers( Saratov University, 1962). Decoction of whole plant to bathe children with rickets.
MULLEIN Verbascum blattaria, V. thapsus.( N. O.: Scrophulariaceae)
Common Names: White Mullein, Verbascum Flowers, Woollen Blanket Herb, Flannel Flower, Cow’ s Lungwort, Velvet Leaf. Features: The genus comprises some 300 species native to Europe, North Africa, western and central Asia. Some species have escaped and are common in the United States, growing in recent clearings, sparsely inhabited fields and along roadsides. They vary greatly in size and form, but most have a columnar aspect, are hairy or woolly, and have yellow, red, purplish or brownish-red flowers arranged in dense terminal spikes or in narrow panicles. The best-known species in America is the common V. thapsus, marked by a stout, erect, unbranched, woolly stem 2 – 3 ft. tall, with basal leaves, narrowing at the base into wings which pass down the stem. This feature is characteristic of V. thapsus, enabling it to be distinguished from the various other Mulleins. The dense spikes of small yellow flowers bloom in July and August; the fruit, a capsule or pod. The flowers and leaves have a faint, rather pleasant odour, and a somewhat bitterish, albuminous taste. Keeps well if properly dried and stored for winter use. Medicinal Parts: The leaves and flower( Culpeper used the root also). Solvent: Boiling water. Bodily Influence: Demulcent, Diuretic, Anodyne, Antispasmodic, Astringent, Pectoral. Uses: The dried leaves were smoked to relieve lung congestion by the Indians, this being one of their many uses. Herbalists of the space age know of its remedies for coughs, colds and pectoral complaints, including haemorrhages from the lungs, shortness of breath and pulmonary complaints. Mullein has been considered a treatment for haemorrhoids for several hundred years and is still used for this purpose, both internally and as a fomentation. A decoction made with equal parts of Horsemint( Monarda punctata) and Mullein( V. thapsus) and taken three times a day is excellent for kidney diseases.