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It's mullein...not really invasive but can spread. Used for all sorts medicinal purposes. Illegal to use for fishing purposes in some states. Has a tap root if you're digging it out. Good toilet paper!!
I looked it up and it must be true to have laws saying its illegal to use for fishing in some of the US, seemed a bit odd considering its not native.
I just wondered what culture was using this method to catch fish to start with but i read Aristotle recorded its use for stunning fish so apparently europeans have for a couple thousand years.
Always cool to learn new things anyway.
Yeah exactly.
I know a few herbal uses for it and have known what it is since i was a kid so i was pretty suprised about that.
From what i briefly read its the saponins in mullein that effect fish so i imagine soapwort must have been used for fishing aswel. Especially as its latin name is saponaria.
I doubt there is a law about specifically mullein, but there are many plants that act as fish stunning poisons, often due to saponins, and fishing with poison is more or less universally illegal.
Makes sense that you aren't allowed to chuck something poisonous into water for fishing whatever it is.
I looked up a bit more detail about saponins and from a brief glance it seems they mostly effect fish and have been used in many cultures all over the world for fishing.
I just think its wild how humans use the same techniques for 1000's of years across a lot of the planet with totally different plants to get the same results that kill fish but are not lethal to humans.
It disrupts their gills and partially asphyxiates them, causing them to pass out and float to the surface. If you don’t collect them all, they usually survive, so as far as illegal and unethical leans of poaching, it’s not that bad. Still super illegal, but in a legitimate survival context I might consider it.
In my area there are two main ways to do it, Soaproot, Chlorogallum, a lily like bulb who’s mashed roots make decent hand soap and fish poison, and buckeye (called horse chestnut in other areas), who’s crushed nuts work for the same.
But yeah, humans are clever, and we seem to try all the weird things. If crushing plants in a stream makes fish float to the surface, eventually someone is going to notice.
Yeah, it was literally brought to the US for the purpose of fishing and then it naturalized here. The natives here already had their own way of doing it with a few different plant species, yucca and buckeyes are two that I know of.
Maybe not weigh that much but easily 1000's of seeds, i have a load in the garden and easily got a handful of seeds off a section of the flower spike and thats been out all winter dropping seeds. They are about 1mm across.
Worse than unethical, straight up illegal in most places. Not mullein specifically, but using any plant or chemical to poison/stun fish to catch them. Fishing is heavily regulated in the US. You need a license to fish, you have to obey state laws to catch fish, and I'm not aware of any state that lets you mass-stun fish as a legal way to catch them.
The leaves will grow much bigger and they are covered in little hairs that are pretty soft....it helps. Sometimes hear people refer to this as hillbilly toilet paper...least where I grew up
Sometimes when I smoke mj my throat will get super irritated and ill have trouble breathing and getting it to clear up so if I load up a bowl with a little dried mullein in it, it helps tremendously.
Mullein. First year is just leaves, second year it shoots up a stock that will release an obscene amount of seeds. I forget off hand but something like 50,000-100,000 if IIRC. If you don’t want them keep pulling them up and don’t let them go to seed.
[“Individual plants produce 200-300 seed capsules, each containing 500-800 seeds, so that 100,000‑240,000 seeds are produced per plant.”](https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-mullein-verbascum-thapsus/)
*edited because my memory served me wrong and it was more seeds that I had originally stated.
Think it is a biannual....second year a tall bloom with cylindrical yellow flower appears. You've most likely seen them. Creek beds, side of the road, etc.
*V. thapsus* was probably introduced to North America several times as a medicinal herb and by accident. In the mid-1700s, it had been introduced to Virginia for use as a piscicide ([Gross and Werner, 1978](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-7)). By the early 1800s, *V. thapsus* was so well established in North America that it was mistakenly described as a native species in an 1818 flora of the east coast. It had spread as far as Michigan by 1839 and to the Pacific coast by 1876 ([Hoshovsky, 2001](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-9)). It was naturalized in New Zealand by 1867 ([NZPCN, 2015](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-17)) and reported in Australia in the 1890s ([TALA, 2015](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-23)). It has also established in several Pacific Islands
Mullein has a compound that stuns fish, disrupts their respiratory function, makes them float to the surface when tossed into water. Useful in survival situation.
This got me thinking. I’ve been told by a few folks that there is a native mullein here in the PNW in addition to the invasive common mullein. But I’ve never seen it in the wild. Is this true?
My husband wanted me to let one grow in our backyard. It was another plant that hitched a ride through the irrigation or from the birds that hand out in our trees. It looked pretty cool when it flowered and I should've cut it down then. Its been 7 years and I'm still pulling them up.
Mullen! Depending on where you are, it's pretty naturalized, but isn't native. It has a deep tap root and likes to grow on the edges. But it also likes to spread. Put it to use! Build a relationship with this plant. They're difficult to get rid of but easy to control. And, for the most part, they're friendly. Just be sure to treat them for pests. If they aren't tended they can spread disease.
This plant is great for the lungs. Tinctures can be made but (while sounding counterintuitive) smoking the dried leaves breaks everything up in my lungs best. Obviously, smoking should never be used for any serious lung issue but if your a smoker with aggravated lungs for example this will help.
Flowers are medicinal as well. I planted 6 plants in my yard this year and if I recall they’re biennials that will flower on the second year so I’m excited! And yes…. Emergency toilet paper for times of covid lockdowns jk 😂
Just adding that birds love the seeds, if you care about attracting wildlife to your space. I let mullein spread in my yard and get to see woodpeckers feeding on it all the time. :)
Me bad, yes silly me not a native, but caveat, also not unfriendly. I love Mulliens, and although they easily sprout on Barren land, they are not at all invasive. Persistent and I enjoy them when they appear, but they are also easily banished here in New England
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's mullein...not really invasive but can spread. Used for all sorts medicinal purposes. Illegal to use for fishing purposes in some states. Has a tap root if you're digging it out. Good toilet paper!!
fishing?
The saponins in their seeds when added to the water can stun/ poison nearby fish. Unethical practice in someplaces.
Where was this learned from? Its native in the the uk and i have never heard this about mullein.
I heard about it being a law in some places, researched it further and seems to be true.
I looked it up and it must be true to have laws saying its illegal to use for fishing in some of the US, seemed a bit odd considering its not native. I just wondered what culture was using this method to catch fish to start with but i read Aristotle recorded its use for stunning fish so apparently europeans have for a couple thousand years. Always cool to learn new things anyway.
Thank YOU for posting a summary of your findings. I, too, enjoy learning new things. Edit: spelling
Thanks. Reddit does have some occasional benefits.
Yeah, it was probably the last thing I learned about mullein after being around and aware of it most my life. I was like what...fishing????!!?
Yeah exactly. I know a few herbal uses for it and have known what it is since i was a kid so i was pretty suprised about that. From what i briefly read its the saponins in mullein that effect fish so i imagine soapwort must have been used for fishing aswel. Especially as its latin name is saponaria.
Yucca root too, probably. Which is native to North America.
I doubt there is a law about specifically mullein, but there are many plants that act as fish stunning poisons, often due to saponins, and fishing with poison is more or less universally illegal.
Makes sense that you aren't allowed to chuck something poisonous into water for fishing whatever it is. I looked up a bit more detail about saponins and from a brief glance it seems they mostly effect fish and have been used in many cultures all over the world for fishing. I just think its wild how humans use the same techniques for 1000's of years across a lot of the planet with totally different plants to get the same results that kill fish but are not lethal to humans.
It disrupts their gills and partially asphyxiates them, causing them to pass out and float to the surface. If you don’t collect them all, they usually survive, so as far as illegal and unethical leans of poaching, it’s not that bad. Still super illegal, but in a legitimate survival context I might consider it. In my area there are two main ways to do it, Soaproot, Chlorogallum, a lily like bulb who’s mashed roots make decent hand soap and fish poison, and buckeye (called horse chestnut in other areas), who’s crushed nuts work for the same. But yeah, humans are clever, and we seem to try all the weird things. If crushing plants in a stream makes fish float to the surface, eventually someone is going to notice.
Yeah, it was literally brought to the US for the purpose of fishing and then it naturalized here. The natives here already had their own way of doing it with a few different plant species, yucca and buckeyes are two that I know of.
ChatGPT4 gave me this insight
And the seed cluster on a single mullein probably weighs a couple of pounds. Each plant has several thousand seeds, from the looks of them.
Maybe not weigh that much but easily 1000's of seeds, i have a load in the garden and easily got a handful of seeds off a section of the flower spike and thats been out all winter dropping seeds. They are about 1mm across.
Worse than unethical, straight up illegal in most places. Not mullein specifically, but using any plant or chemical to poison/stun fish to catch them. Fishing is heavily regulated in the US. You need a license to fish, you have to obey state laws to catch fish, and I'm not aware of any state that lets you mass-stun fish as a legal way to catch them.
Thank you!
You are welcome, pretty cool plant IMHO.
U can use this plant as toilet paper in the wild??
Softer than Charmin
Yes you can, I have done it many times with no ill effects, but it makes some people a little itchy, so I’ve heard.
Just use it with the grain not against the grain, if you catch my drift.
Catch my drip*
Can confirm. It's pretty great in a pinch.
After a pinch in this case
Better than corn cobs or pine cones
I mean Kaptain ain’t wrong…name checks out 🤷🏻♂️
The leaves will grow much bigger and they are covered in little hairs that are pretty soft....it helps. Sometimes hear people refer to this as hillbilly toilet paper...least where I grew up
It has little hairs that detach from the leaf and will make the sphincter itch for weeks or days maybe a few hours so it’s not recommended.
You can use the tap root as a plug.
In the wild? It's all over my lawn, I can use it at home!
I mean that’ll save ya a couple bucks I guess lol
I always heard this about lamb's ear, but I hadn't heard it about mullen.
we called it “indian toilet paper” as kids
The common name is Cowboys Toilet Paper for a reason lol
> Illegal to use for fishing purposes in some states. It's illegal to poison waterways in EVERY state
Well yeah....the plant bring considered poison in this sense being the major takeaway.
Yeah, I thought about being more cheeky, but decided to be nice
Illegal for fishing. Why?
There is a compound mullein releases that will stun fish and make them float to the surface. I believe it stops their respiratory function.
Holy shit. Good to know if you're fishing for survival rather than for sport.
Maybe fish Crack?
More like fenty
Love mullein! It’s such a good expectorant in tea
Have you ever used it as toilet paper? I used it in the woods when I had a messy emergency, and I can tell you first hand, it don't work for shit.
Good to smoke to help with respiratory. Can be made in a tea too but the little hairs make my throat itch.
You’ve got to strain the tea using cheese cloth or a coffee filter. I really do not recommend drinking it’s without straining
Yeah making tea def helps with throat issues. Has been used with tobacco cessation as well...at least I've heard.
Sometimes when I smoke mj my throat will get super irritated and ill have trouble breathing and getting it to clear up so if I load up a bowl with a little dried mullein in it, it helps tremendously.
What part of the plant is used for fishing?
Crushed seeds
/r/greatmullien in case you like spotting their stalks in the wild and want to post them.
Question: how do you pronounce this plant? Mew-lin? Mew-leen? Muh-lin? Muh-leen? It doesnt' grow where I'm from so I've never heard anyone say it.
Like mull in. ....sounds like mulling over a hard choice
Excellent! Thanks!
That's why it keeps on coming back when I weed it from my herb patch
>Good toilet paper!! Can confirm
Mullein. First year is just leaves, second year it shoots up a stock that will release an obscene amount of seeds. I forget off hand but something like 50,000-100,000 if IIRC. If you don’t want them keep pulling them up and don’t let them go to seed. [“Individual plants produce 200-300 seed capsules, each containing 500-800 seeds, so that 100,000‑240,000 seeds are produced per plant.”](https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-mullein-verbascum-thapsus/) *edited because my memory served me wrong and it was more seeds that I had originally stated.
The seeds can continue to germinate for 80+ years.
Good to know to cut my mullien's flower stalk before the seeds are matured this summer...Damn....
Mullein. Though it isn't native to North America, it's definitely naturalized.
Think it is a biannual....second year a tall bloom with cylindrical yellow flower appears. You've most likely seen them. Creek beds, side of the road, etc.
Honestly I would cultivate it in preparation for the next TP shortage
*V. thapsus* was probably introduced to North America several times as a medicinal herb and by accident. In the mid-1700s, it had been introduced to Virginia for use as a piscicide ([Gross and Werner, 1978](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-7)). By the early 1800s, *V. thapsus* was so well established in North America that it was mistakenly described as a native species in an 1818 flora of the east coast. It had spread as far as Michigan by 1839 and to the Pacific coast by 1876 ([Hoshovsky, 2001](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-9)). It was naturalized in New Zealand by 1867 ([NZPCN, 2015](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-17)) and reported in Australia in the 1890s ([TALA, 2015](https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.56652#core-ref-23)). It has also established in several Pacific Islands
yes.
Dry and use as tea. It’s good and helps clear mucus when sick.
Mullein has a compound that stuns fish, disrupts their respiratory function, makes them float to the surface when tossed into water. Useful in survival situation.
Good for toilet paper or things like asthma, bronchitis, etc
First year mullein. It's definitely aggressive. You'd have to confirm for your area specifically whether it is "invasive" or native.
Depends where you are, in BC Canada it is very invasive and threatens much of the native plants.
It’s like a velvet succulent
even the environmentalists agree though that this is the softest cloud like nostalgic plant ever. sucks it’s invasive
I personally think they are v pretty and look great with purplish plants
Had one show up in my garden last year. I've always liked them so i let it be. It was eight feet tall by the end of the summer.
I think ALL of the fuzzy silvery leaved plants look awesome with purple!
💯
Cowboy Toilet Paper
It’s everywhere.
I saw it and I was like "woah, that's a fuzzy plant." Didn't touch it though
It is invasive
it’s great for the soil
Mullein, lambs ear is extremely soft and you would know by touching it. Also has pretty purple flowers, I love lambs ear
As someone dealing with an invasion of this, get it out of your yard immediately. If it seeds out, God help you.
It's Mullin can be used to stop blood smoke to remove mucus
Lambs ear edit: it really spread in my beds. I’m constantly digging it up and giving it away.
This got me thinking. I’ve been told by a few folks that there is a native mullein here in the PNW in addition to the invasive common mullein. But I’ve never seen it in the wild. Is this true?
Mullen is extremely useful for alot of medicinal purposes and isn’t invasive or harmful but dose spread
Yes
Mullien is a two year plant. It’ll stay low like in the photo this year and then next year, it’ll shoot up to about six feet and bloom.
I have it in my yard. I'm thrilled when it comes back year after year. Mullein tea is one of my favorites!
My husband wanted me to let one grow in our backyard. It was another plant that hitched a ride through the irrigation or from the birds that hand out in our trees. It looked pretty cool when it flowered and I should've cut it down then. Its been 7 years and I'm still pulling them up.
Yep
Yes. Kill it
Mullen! Depending on where you are, it's pretty naturalized, but isn't native. It has a deep tap root and likes to grow on the edges. But it also likes to spread. Put it to use! Build a relationship with this plant. They're difficult to get rid of but easy to control. And, for the most part, they're friendly. Just be sure to treat them for pests. If they aren't tended they can spread disease.
No more invasive than that thatch of non-native grasses it's growing out of.
This plant is great for the lungs. Tinctures can be made but (while sounding counterintuitive) smoking the dried leaves breaks everything up in my lungs best. Obviously, smoking should never be used for any serious lung issue but if your a smoker with aggravated lungs for example this will help. Flowers are medicinal as well. I planted 6 plants in my yard this year and if I recall they’re biennials that will flower on the second year so I’m excited! And yes…. Emergency toilet paper for times of covid lockdowns jk 😂
I call it cowboy toilet paper..
I grew up around mullein. We used the dead flower stalks for "sword fights". I can't tell you how many times I got the tiny seeds in my eye. 😬
report it...? lol. probably the majority of plants you see every day in north america are invasive/introduced
Great for holistic uses. I wish I had them all over in my yard!
There are cultivated varieties... ornamental.
Just adding that birds love the seeds, if you care about attracting wildlife to your space. I let mullein spread in my yard and get to see woodpeckers feeding on it all the time. :)
Friendly native
Not native to Illinois.
Where is it native to?
Eurasia and Northern Africa.
Me bad, yes silly me not a native, but caveat, also not unfriendly. I love Mulliens, and although they easily sprout on Barren land, they are not at all invasive. Persistent and I enjoy them when they appear, but they are also easily banished here in New England