How to make and use Mullein Flower Oil

 

Mullein

Scientific Name: Verbascum thapsus

Common Names: Common Mullein, Big Taper, Flannel Plant, Flannel Mullein, Velvet Dock, Velvet Plant, Woolly Mullein, Great Mullein.

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Biennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized weed is native to Europe and the temperate and mountainous parts of Asia.

Habitat: Upland, Mountain. Common Mullein grows in disturbed areas and is especially common along roadsides.

Flowering Season: Summer, Fall

Height: Up to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall

There’s so much to say about this plant it’s hard to know where to begin. Not only does it grow all over the US and in many other parts of the world, but it’s one of the easier plants to identify and harvest. It has many valuable actions and can be used in a variety of ways and preparations. 

Today I’m going to teach you about using infused mullein flower oil. I’ll start out by briefly talking about harvesting mullein flowers, prepping them for storage, infusing them in oil, and of course some various ways you can then use that oil in your home.

Harvesting Mullein Flowers

Mullein is one of the easiest herbs to identify for beginners. It grows everywhere and has a distinct look to it. It has large light green leaves with a white fuzz covering them and tall stalks that grow out of the center of each plant. These stalks will be covered in bright yellow flowers in mid to late summer. Mullein prefers dry, rocky, poor quality soils, and many times you’ll find it growing alongside roads and up steep mountainsides.

Mullein flowers have a strange smell… not unpleasant, just different. Some people think it smells like vanilla while others can’t quite put their finger on it!

It can be a chore harvesting mullein flowers, not because it’s difficult (you simply pick the flowers from the stalks) but because only a few flowers open on each plant every day. So unless you know of a place where lots of mullein grows and you can collect a bunch in one day, you’ll have to make several trips to collect enough flowers to use for the year.

If you don’t have time to harvest the individual flowers you can cut the entire mullein seed head off, chop it up, and use it in preparations as the oil found in the flowers is present in the entire seed head and works just as well as the flowers alone.

Prepping Mullein Flowers For Use

So after you’ve collected a good bit of mullein flowers you’ll need to use either them fresh immediately or dry them for storage. 

You can use them fresh for tinctures, teas, and oils, and you can use them dried for all herbal preparations. I personally like to use fresh flowers in my tinctures, wilted flowers in my oils, and then dry the rest for storage in case I need them later. 

Now, on to prepping the flowers for an oil infusion!

As soon as you get home from harvesting your mullein flowers, dump them out on a white sheet so the bugs will have a chance to crawl off. Don’t stress about getting every single bug off. You’re going to strain everything out of your preparations in the end anyway… bugs included. I also don’t wash my flowers as I like to leave them as is… pollen and all. Leave this to sit for an hour or so.

Next gather your flowers and decide if you’re going to use them fresh, wilted, or dried. I’ll go over the process for infusing both fresh and dried below. If you’re going to use them fresh you don’t have anything left to do. If you’re going to use them wilted, simply leave them laying on your sheet for 2-3 hours to reduce their water content some more. If you’re going to dry them completely you can sandwich them between two pieces of screen (so they get good air circulation and don’t blow away) or you can dry them carefully in the oven.

Once they’re dried, store them in a clean glass jar in a cool, dark spot. Make sure you label them!!

Infusing Mullein Flowers In Oil

When I make mullein flower oil I always use olive oil. Of course you can use any kind of oil you prefer. I like to use olive oil because it’s easy to find, it has great properties, it isn’t as fragile and prone to rancidity as some other oils are, and it’s relatively cheap.

Mullein Flower Infusion using Fresh Flowers

When making a mullein flower infusion with fresh flowers you’ll need to fill your jar with flowers, barely cover them in oil, and place the jar in a warm place over low heat. A crockpot or a saucepan on a low setting works great. You’ll leave the lid off so moisture from the flowers can escape and let it sit like this for 3 days. This is a great way to infuse herbs into oils. The heat really helps to draw the properties out of the plant material and into the oil.

Mullein Flower Infusion using Dried Flowers

If you’re using wilted or dried mullein flowers in your oil you’ll simply fill your jar with flowers, barely cover them in oil, and place them in a dark, cool cabinet for 4-6 weeks to sit. You can wrap your jar in a cloth and let it sit in a window seal as well as this will make a solar infusion.

One method is no better than the other really… at least not that I can tell. It all comes down to how quickly you need your oil and what you prefer. I try to stay prepared and give myself 6 weeks for all my macerations (oils and tinctures).

Once you’re oil has infused as long as you want it to, it’s very important that you strain it well. I normally triple strain most of my oils just to be sure they’re free of all particles and herb matter. I start by warming the oil over low heat to help thin it. This helps it pass through filters better. First pour your oil through a fine mesh sieve. This should catch all the flowers and larger particles. Next, pour your warm oil through a clean piece of muslin cloth to catch finer particles, and lastly you can pour it through a coffee filter to make sure your oil is extra clean.