Mullen
Considered by some as a weed, the monks of the Middle Ages grew mullen for a number of ailments, especially those associated with coughs and congestion. One of its common names was “bullocks lungwort,” taken from a common home cure used to treat cattle with coughs and pneumonia. Sap from the crushed leaves of the plant is said to alleviate the pain of insect bites.
[Thomas Stuart McFarland, a farmer near Belgrade, Newton County, in southeast Texas, reported that he had sweet fennel in his garden as of April 16, 1840.]
