One does not expect to see many wild flowers at this time of the year. The sun-parched soil cannot provide plants with much, if any, water that is essential for life; but the wavy-leaved mullein is one of the few exceptions.
This plant is flowering right now. You can see it along country roads, especially in the northwest of Malta. It grows to about one metre high and is unmistakeable. Wherever it grows, it is providing much needed nectar and pollen to the honeybee. Its presence helps to reduce the period during which bees find no nectar to take back to their hives.
The mulleins are a group of flowering plants native to Europe and Asia. They are well represented in the Mediterranean. Two species are native to the Maltese islands while another species, which used to be cultivated, can nowadays be found growing wild in gardens.
The great mullein has been used medicinally for centuries and was once credited with magical properties
In Maltese, the wavy-leaved mullein is known as xatbet l-andar, meaning the gate to the threshing floor – an area of land where the soil is flattened and beaten solid by farmers to thrash and separate the wheat from the chaff.
The glandular mullein which has no Maltese name is also indigenous but very rare and one would have to be very lucky to find it in the Maltese countryside.
Another species, the great mullein, is native to the north of Malta. It was probably cultivated locally for its flowers and, possibly, for its medicinal properties.
The great mullein has been used medicinally for centuries and was once credited with magical properties. It was used as a remedy for sore throat, cough and lung diseases. The flowers and leaves were used as an infusion to reduce mucus formation and to stimulate the coughing up of phlegm.
Mullein is emollient and makes a good wound healer. It has many other medicinal uses and in the past it was used to treat toothache and as a heart tonic. The flowers are used to produce a yellow dye and an infusion can be applied to hair to give it a golden colour. In parts of Europe some people used to believe that witches used lamps and candles with mullein wicks in their incantations.
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