About this episode
Today’s episode is my third interview with jim mcdonald and it’s brimming with soooo much information about the health benefits of mullein ( Verbascum spp). When jim told me he wanted to do a really long episode on mullein, I admittedly wasn’t prepared for how long he really wanted to go. But he told me that he never feels like he gets to truly share all that he wants to share about mullein. And who am I to deny him (or you, for that matter!) that opportunity? So grab your cup of tea, get cozy and bring your notepad and pencil because there’s a lot of mullein goodness packed into this episode! And don’t miss downloading the mullein handout jim prepared just for you; you can find it at https://bit.ly/3I1sIvT . Why should anyone care about this weed? Well, to get started, here are a few occasions when you might reach for mullein: ► When you have a cough… especially a specific kind of cough; listen in to get the details ► If you’re dealing with stress incontinence… jim shares which part of the mullein plant can be especially helpful ► When you need a relaxing nervine… but it doesn’t work this way for everyone, so listen in to hear who’s most likely to be helped by mullein By the end of this episode, you’ll know: ► Several hints for working with mullein smoke (including as a possible aid to quit smoking tobacco) ► The species to grow if you want to harvest mullein flowers (and why you can pick them all without fear that you’re overharvesting) ► A toxic look-alike to be aware of before wildcrafting for mullein ► Tips for increasing the shelf life of mullein infused oil ► How mullein can amplify the effectiveness of other therapies for certain types of pain ► and so much more… For those of you who don’t already know him, jim mcdonald is an herbalist in southeast Michigan (that cool state that looks like a mitten you can see from space) where he teaches, sees clients, wildharvests, and concocts a plethora of diverse herbal formulas. His approach to herbalism blends European folk influences mixed up with a bit of 19th century eclectic and physiomedical vitalism, which he tries to spice up with a bit of humor and discretionary irreverence so as not to appear to be too serious about life. jim hosts the websites www.herbcraft.org and herbcraft.podia.com which list his offerings and convey his thoughts of plants and herbalism. (And if you’ve ever wondered, the lack of capitalization is because the dots over the "j" and the "i" just look super cool together). If you’d like to hear more from jim, which I highly recommend, then head to the show notes where you can get easy links for his website and social media channels. You can also find the transcript for this episode in the show notes and you can access your handout of jim mullin' about mullein at: https://bit.ly/3I1sIvT I’m excited to share our conversation with you today! ---- Get full show notes and more information at: herbswithrosaleepodcast.com For more behind-the-scenes of this podcast, follow @rosaleedelaforet on Instagram! The secret to using herbs successfully begins with knowing who YOU are. Get started by taking my free Herbal Jumpstart course when you sign up for my newsletter . If you enjoy the Herbs with Rosalee podcast, we could use your support! Please consider leaving a 5-star rating and review and sharing the show with someone who needs to hear it! On the podcast, we explore the many ways plants heal, as food, as medicine, and through nature connection. Each week, I focus on a single seasonal plant and share trusted herbal knowledge so that you can get the best results when using herbs for your health. Learn more about Herbs with Rosalee at herbswithrosalee.com . ---- Rosalee is an herbalist and author of the bestselling book Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods & Remedies That Heal and co-author of the bestselling book Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine . She's a registered herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and teaches many popular online courses. Read about how Rosalee went from having a terminal illness to being a bestselling author in her full story here .