The plant’s soft, fuzzy leaves, gathered in spring and summer, are typically thought of as lung medicine, best taken as tea or smoked (really!) To manage ear infections an oil can be made with the sweet little flowers. Mullein, like so many plants that we like to simplify as a “respiratory” or “digestive” or “nervous system” herb, can support the body in many ways, not just one. But I'm not diving into the depths of mullein’s medicine ways here. I just want to share my love of Mullein Torches.
The ancient Romans dipped the dried stalks of mullein, gathered in fall or winter, into animal fat and burned them as torches for funeral processions that carried the dead out of the city. (An aside from my undergraduate days as a student of Ancient Rome: because no one could be buried within the city walls, the roads that led to cities were lined with tombs up to those walls. The tombs were mostly along the last few miles of road outside the city and they'd often have benches for weary travelers to rest.)
Mullein, dipped in fat or (especially) wax and then lit, works particularly well as a torch. The resulting flame is bright and big. I’m still always thrilled by how surprisingly bright the flames get. Each inch of a wax-covered stalk accounts for about 10 minutes of burning. Most stalks are 6 inches to a foot long but I have found stalks up to a meter long! I don’t quite have my head wrapped around what makes this plant such a magnificent torch. The shape is certainly perfect but even a single leaf of mullein can be dipped into wax and used as an effective candle wick on its own.
Historically, mullein was said to protect “against witches.” The herbalists and midwives who were deemed witches by the Church actually probably used mullein a lot. I mean, it’s a wild and free plant with many medicinal and practical uses. And it's also called hag’s torches and hag’s tapers. Making them is a gorgeous way to work with your hands and the seasonal materials around you.
Making Mullein Torches
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When you harvest mullein stalks in the fall or winter, make sure to shake out as many seeds as you can first so more will grow next year.
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Lay them out to fully dry or use a dehydrator
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Heat wax (beeswax, leftover candle wax bits) in a double boiler
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Hold the stalk over the double boiler and paint the wax on it with a brush
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After applying a layer, set the stalk aside to cool momentarily before painting on the next layer
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I use a paper grocery bag that can get waxy and I'll stick an ice pack inside to speed the cooling
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If you want, decorate with dried herbs while the wax is still warm and soft
Sources for historical reference:
Adkins and Adkins, Life in Ancient Rome
Grieve, M. A Modern Herbal