Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
The infused oil of the flowers of common mullein is a standard herbal remedy for earache. Children, swimmers, and those with excess ear wax love having a little warmed mullein flower oil gently dropped into the ear. This photo is of the same two mullein plants I showed you last winter. Now the basal rosette of leaves that we saw then has expanded upward, up into a stalk, pulling the leaves up with it, and bursting forth at the top with a profusion of yellow, fuzzy, felty flowers and flower buds. These plants don’t have flowers yet but are fully extended. This seems to me to be the perfect time to harvest mullein to dry for infusion. I cut the stalk near the base and hang the entire plant upside down to dry.

Plantain (Plantago majus)
The infused oil of the leaves of plantain is a sovereign remedy against itching, diaper rash, skin irritations, bruises, sprains, wounds, and the like. Whether you favor the broad-leaf plantain, just coming into flower, or the narrow leaf plantain, nearly done flowering for the year, you will come to rely on both the fresh leaves, and the oil (or ointment if you choose to thicken it with beeswax), to tend to the wounds of daily life. Plantain calms and heals, and nourishes healthy regrowth when skin has been injured surgically or accidentally.

favor the broad-leaf plantain (photo left) . . . or the . . .plantain (photo on recipe page)

St. Joan’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
The infused oil of St. J’s is also known as red oil, but “miracle oil” would be closer to the truth. When oil (or vodka, in the case of a tincture) is poured over the fresh flowers, or flowering tops, of Hypericum, the red oil hidden in the yellow flowers emerges. Red oil penetrates muscle knots and melts them. It is the massage therapist’s ally. Red oil kills viruses that live in the nerves. It is the savior of those with herpes, shingles, and cold sores. Red oil treats and prevents sunburn. It is the cherished friend of redheads and blondes, and all fair damsels and dames. Red oil eases headaches. It is, indeed, a saintly bestower of many miracles.

Yellow sweet clover (Mellilotus officinalis)
This striking, tall clover loves to wave to passing motorists. Its name means “honey flower, official medicine.” And it does, indeed, smell sweet. The odor is linked to coumarin, a blood-thinning compound very similar to coumadin, the drug. I eat the flowers sparingly in salads. Infused oil of yellow sweet clover captures the sweet scent, but only holds it for a year, so it needs to be remade yearly. Try it as a calming balm, a massage oil, or a way to soften hard heels. Colonial housewives made a vanilla substitute by soaking the root of yellow sweet clover in rum. A white version of sweet clover blooms later in the year; it is used in the same ways.