Mullein has been used in European folk medicine for centuries and like so many herbs of European origin, Mullein was introduced by colonists and then incorporated into the medicine of North American Indigenous people. Mullein was used as European folk medicine to ward off evil spirits, to instill courage and health, provide protection and to attract love. The Abnaki indigenous tribe in North America used the root to make a necklace for teething infants, the Cherokee applied the leaves as a poultice to wounds and swollen glands and the Navajos smoked mullein, referring to it as “big tobacco”.

In 1854, Mullein was first published in the King’s American dispensatory, bringing light to American physicians for its use of the upper respiratory tract. Mullein was prescribed by Eclectic Physicians in the early 1800 and  1900s as an effective remedy for its demulcent, diuretic and mild nervine properties.