Mullein | Mazama, WA | September 2019
Mullein is my totem plant, if such a thing exists. I admire how it thrives in adverse conditions — dirt piles, roadside ditches, boulder cracks — and still maintains a stoic bearing. Herbal health websites list it as one of the top medicinal plants, able to soothe wounds and burns and, when ingested, ease symptoms of flu, pneumonia, headaches, allergies and other ailments. Considered an invasive species in many locales, it’s often yanked, burned or poisoned. Thus, lovers of weeds (of which there are many) argue mullein is misunderstood, unnecessarily persecuted and its beauty unappreciated.
IrwinFoto 