COMMON MILKWEED AND MULLEIN ARE BLOOMING

COMMON MILKWEED...

...UMBEL OF FRAGRANT FLOWERS

COMMON MULLEIN FLOWER STALK...

MULLEIN PLANTS GROWING ALONG HWY. J

Monday, 8:00 AM.  62 degrees F, wind W, calm to at times moderately gusty.  The sky is mostly cloudy and overcast, but the humidity has dropped to 75%, while the barometer has peaked at 30.12".  It looks like it will be another cool day, but hopefully warmer than yesterday, which was almost frigid.  The globe may be warming somewhere, but not in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
   The common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, in the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) is now beginning to bloom.  Almost everyone knows this plant, with its milky, sticky sap and intensely fragrant blossoms.  The family and genus are named after the Greek god of medicine, Asclepias, because of the many folk remedies associated with these plants.     The common milkweed has long been used for pain relief, its leaves and stems for fiber and the down surrounding the seeds, called kapok, for stuffing pillows and life preservers.  But most Americans today mainly only recognize its ecological importance as the obligate host of the Monarch butterfly caterpillar.  It is a North American native, but Linnaeus, the father of scientific binomial nomenclature,  mistakenly believed it to be of Asian origin, hence its specific name, syriacus.
   The common mullein, Verbascum thapsis, in the figwort family, the Scrophulariaceae, is a favorite of mine, even though it is a field weed of European origin. The latin name is said to be that used by the ancients for the plant.  The golden yellow flowers, borne on long spikes, are a dominant feature of summer vacant fields and roadsides.  It is also called flannel plant for its broad, downy leaves. In England it is called "candles", which the plants do indeed resemble (some varieties actually looking like elaborate candelabras).
   In medieval times mullein flower stalks were dipped in tallow and used as ceremonial candles for various occasions, and were also said to ward off witches and evil spirits. The French-Canadian common name, Tabac du diable, translates to "devil's tobacco," and the dried leaves, smoked like tobacco, are said to relieve asthma and tubercular cough.  The mulleins have a long history in folk and herbal medicine for the relief of various ailments, and mullein oil is still used successfully for children's ear infections.  I always like to have a mullein plant growing somewhere in the garden, as the fuzzy leaves make an excellent poultice for cuts, bruises and minor infections.