# Please help identify--common mullein? curly dock? what is this???



## doinitok (Feb 28, 2012)

I live in the northeast and found this plant/weed all around my property. 

I think it might be curly dockweed, but I'm not entirely convinced. 

It tastes a lot like arugula. It's very spicy, but not really bitter.

I've attached two photos. Please help me identify, so I can harvest at ease.

Many advanced thanks,
DoInItOk


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I can tell you that it is definitely not "Curly Dock", another name for curly dock is "Yellow Dock", it is edible, has medicinal value and it is very common. I grow it in my "Medicinal Garden Patch".

To me it does look like arugula, I made the mistake of growing the stuff a few years ago. IMO, it tasted like a lettuce leaf that a skunk wiped its butt with.

Curly or Yellow Dock is used as a liver tonic, a spring green and tea made from the root is used as a remedy for "Chronic Constipation"(it works too if you can stand the taste).


I found a few pictures of Curly or Yellow Dock for you


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I can tell you that it is definitely not mullein. So two down ... Mullein is a hairy biennial plant that can grow up to 6 ft. tall (in the second year.)


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

Dandelion maybe or sorrel? May have to pull out the plant ID book.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

It tastes a lot like arugula ~ I hope you are playing us ....


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

with the pics and description I have to go with (but without sniffing and tasting for myself) Horseradish. I grow it and it sure looks like that in the spring.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

ContinualHarvest said:


> Dandelion maybe or sorrel? May have to pull out the plant ID book.


I have and do eat Dandelion, (IMO)doesn't much taste like Arugula. If doinitok's taste description is accurate, you can probably rule it out too, although their are some similarities. To definitely rule it in/or out he can just sit back and wait for it to bloom, that would be a dead giveaway.

If your state and county has an "Agricultural Extension Office" they would be able to tell you for sure pretty much on sight.


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## doinitok (Feb 28, 2012)

*good plant ID book?*

can anyone recommend a good plant ID book?

i'd love to learn how to get to the bottom of this mystery! thanks.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Dig one up and break the root.. if it is white and smells like horseradish well there ya go.. but as for books.. that is a toughy.. I have so many different books and have learned from them all.. 
see if your library has a book only on plants native to your state first.. then pick up rodales big book of herbs(I have two of them and older one and a new one). 
look up books on veggies and read thru them all.. 
you will not find just one book on plants that will cover everything that you are looking for.. it just ain't gonna happen. 
And quite a bit of what I know is from being with an Aunty who taught me what she was taught from our grandmother and other family members.


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## goatlady (Nov 7, 2011)

Sure looks like plantain to me - good herb to have around the yard.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Looks like plantain to me, too. Those underside leaves look 'ribby'.


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## doinitok (Feb 28, 2012)

"Master Gardener" at the local extension office told me that it is Deer Tongue...

Thoughts?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

doinitok said:


> "Master Gardener" at the local extension office told me that it is Deer Tongue...
> 
> Thoughts?


Thats one I dont know, looked it up, is this it?

If this is it, the next quesion is "Is it edible"?


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## doinitok (Feb 28, 2012)

No, I"m pretty sure it's not the same as you posted above. 

The more I look into it, the more methinks what I have is sorrel, but which kind precisely, I don't know....

It's definitely not plantain, since the veins don't run parallel from the base to the top of the leaves.

What you posted above looks like dandelion to me, no?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I just did a quick image search on the web and this was one of pics that came up. Yea, it does kinda look like a dandelion, if the pic is in fact deer-tounge it could be related to the dandelion.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Sorry, I can't help you on the ID of yours, but FWIW, here's photo of Mullein as it grows here. That's a six foot fence in the background. It's a very useful plant.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

k0xxx said:


> Sorry, I can't help you on the ID of yours, but FWIW, here's photo of Mullein as it grows here. That's a six foot fence in the background. It's a very useful plant.


Well Daing k0xxx, we have that stuff all over the place, am gonna have to study up on it since "It's a very useful plant".

Just off he top of your and anyone elses head, what is it good for. Just so I will have a idea of what I am checking into.

If it's a medicinal, will have to put some in my medicine patch.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Davarm said:


> Well Daing k0xxx, we have that stuff all over the place, am gonna have to study up on it since "It's a very useful plant".
> 
> Just off he top of your and anyone elses head, what is it good for. Just so I will have a idea of what I am checking into.
> 
> If it's a medicinal, will have to put some in my medicine patch.


The blooms if you keep plucking them out when they pop open(they put out blooms for a long time a few a day ) and dry them they make a good tea for lung problems like congestion. I've been told the plant itself does to but you have to put the tea thru a fine cloth as the hairs can be irritating to the mouth.
and the leaves make wonderful butt wipe..:flower:


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Davarm said:


> Thats one I dont know, looked it up, is this it?
> 
> If this is it, the next quesion is "Is it edible"?


The deer tongue you have pictured is a variety of lettuce. It can also be labeled Amish Deer Tongue in the catalogs and not related to the other plant in the OP.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Davarm said:


> If it's a medicinal, will have to put some in my medicine patch.


Yes, it is medicinal:

Lung and bronchial congestion, spasmodic coughs, sore throat, flowers for earaches ...and the list goes on. 

Mullein is one great plant to have around.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

*Andi said:


> Yes, it is medicinal:
> 
> Lung and bronchial congestion, spasmodic coughs, sore throat, flowers for earaches ...and the list goes on.
> 
> Mullein is one great plant to have around.


I forgot one thing about mullein.. if you cut the stems and let them dry and then dip the top in a bit of oil or wax it makes a dandy torch!


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Well thank you ladies for those bits of wisdom, I will definitely add some to my "medicine patch", this family suffers from very mild asthma. It looks like the grandson has inherited it as well.

I had used Datura to help, burn a few leaves in a bowl of the mornings and it will help through out the day. Will start gathering the flowers when they bloom, they are kinda hard to miss with those yellow flowers. The first year I had my garden I tilled up a bunch of them and spent a year or so getting rid of rest of them , am sorry I did not look them before I cut them all down.

k0xxx, Am kinda embarrassed, I haven't read enough of your posts to know if you are a dude(I suspect) or one of the ladies, but thanks for the info.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Davarm said:


> ...
> 
> k0xxx, Am kinda embarrassed, I haven't read enough of your posts to know if you are a dude(I suspect) or one of the ladies, but thanks for the info.


I'll check with the missus, and let you know... 

Here is part of a writeup about Mullein that I did for a group once.

*One of the many names for the plant is Cowboy Toilet Paper. I won't go into any more detail other than to say there are times that this would be good to know.

It is said to have a long history of use as a medicine, and is an effective treatment for asthma and respiratory disorders. Extracts made from the plant's flowers are a very effective treatment for ear infections. Mullein oil, for ear infections, can be made by placing the flowers in a clear jar, adding some high quality oil, and then setting the jar in the sun to steep for a day. A drop in the ear is said to help relieve infection.

Great mullein is used as a herbal remedy for sore throat, cough, and lung diseases. The leaves can be dried, crushed and smoked.

The dried Mullein stalk is also a favorite for use has a hand drill or bow drill for fire making. Still another use for Mullein is to dip the flowered end of the stalk into wax or tallow, and to use as a torch.

One of the more interesting uses of Mullein in a SHTF or WORL environment, is its' use as a fish paralytic. The seeds are ground, and the spread on the water to paralyze fish. The active ingredient is readily absorbed into the bloodstream through the gills of the fish, but not as easily through the skin or through the gastrointestinal tract.

The dried and ground seeds can also be used as a pesticide that is effective against potato beetles, cucumber beetles, flea beetles, cabbage worms, raspberry bugs, and asparagus bugs, as well as most other arthropods. It is also said to be effective for parasitic mites on chickens and other fowl.

The active ingredient in the seeds is a substance called Rotenone. While generally accepted as safe, in at least one study, chronic exposure to Rotenone has been linked to Parkinson's disease like symptoms. The study does not directly suggest that rotenone exposure is responsible for PD in humans, but is consistent with the belief that chronic exposure to environmental toxins increases the likelihood of the disease. If it were a matter of losing my crops to bugs, in a SHTF situation, I personally would accept the risk that I may contract Parkinson's twenty years down the road. Now I would prefer not to use pesticides if possible, but I don't see much difference between this and any other pesticides on the market. YMMV.

When growing, Great Mullein only produces a small plant with no stalk during the first year. The stalk develops during the second year's growth. I also have read that the seeds can lay dormant for several decades and still be viable, making it an excellent long term storage seed.*


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

k0xxx said:


> I'll check with the missus, and let you know...
> 
> Here is part of a writeup about Mullein that I did for a group once.
> 
> ...


Well k0xxx, you answered the most pressing question, I'll take that you are a "Dude", but anything is possible now a days

The "Cowboy Toilet Paper" as you and Emerald stated kinda makes me sad, just to think all the money I could have saved if I hadn't tilled all the stuff under about 10 years ago. The use as a hand drill would explain why I had so much trouble trying to cut the stuff too.

Really, I am interested in its Respiratory qualities, as I stated we suffer from mild asthma and it could help with that. Through out history respiratory distress has typically been a big killer so anything to help treat that in a SHTF scenario will be very valuable. Now I have something to go with the Datura, Wild Lettuce and Horehound. If the Mullen proves to have any "Expectorant" qualities, that part of my medicine chest may be nearing completion.

This plant seems to have enough applications to cover many bases in the SHTF first aid kit so I will definitely do some work with it

Thanks "All" for the valuable help and info with this plant.

Now all we have to do is to get a positive ID on doinitok's original plant.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

doinitok said:


> "Master Gardener" at the local extension office told me that it is Deer Tongue...
> 
> Thoughts?


There is a Deer Tongue lettuce and a Deer Tongue grass ... Imo it does not look like either (that we have around here) ... :dunno:


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