Description

Verbascum thapsus, great mullein, is a tall biennial herb of the family Scrophulariaceae, native to temperate Europe, the Caucasus, and western Asia, and naturalized extensively across North America, South America, and parts of the Indian subcontinent at higher altitudes. In its first year it produces a basal rosette of densely white-woolly leaves; in its second year it sends up an erect spike reaching two metres, bearing densely packed yellow flowers. Known as Bindal Doda in Kashmiri and Himachali folk medicine, its leaves and flowers have been traditionally incorporated into preparations associated with respiratory and bronchial support. European herbalism has long documented mullein in formulations for throat and lung comfort, recorded in materia medica from the 16th century onward.