gidar-tamaku :

Taxonomical Classification

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Allied species:

There are three usually recognized subspecies:

V. thapsus subsp. thapsus; type, widespread.
V. thapsus subsp. crassifolium (Lam.) Murb.; Mediterranean region and to 2000 metres in southwestern Austria.^[25] (syn. subsp. montanum (Scrad.) Bonnier & Layens)
V. thapsus subsp. giganteum (Willk.) Nyman; Spain, endemic

VERNACULAR NAMES

English: great mullein ,Aarons rod, common mullein
Hindi: बन तम्बाकू ban tambaku, गीदड़ तमाकू gidar tamaku, ककड़ी तमाखू kakri tamakhu •
Kannada: ಕಾಡು ಹೊಗೇಸೊಪ್ಪು kaadu hogesoppu
Punjabi: ਏਕਲਬੀਰ ekalbir, ਗਿੱਦਡ਼ ਤਮਾਕ੍ਕੂ giddar tamakku, ਰੇਉਂਦ reund
German: Königskerze (Kings Candle),
Nepal: बाँदर पुच्छ्रे baandar puchchhre, गुना पुच्छर guna puchchhar, गुन्ठो guntho

Synonyms

Synonyms in Ayurveda:

Geographical distribution:

Verbascum thapsus has a wide native range including Europe, northern Africa and Asia, from the Azores and Canary Islands east to western China, north to the British Isles, Scandinavia and Siberia, and south to the Himalayas.In northern Europe, it grows from sea level up to 1,850 m altitude,[2] while in China it grows at 1,400–3,200 m altitude.

Use in other system of medicine:

Dioscorides first recommended the plant 2000 years ago, for pulmonary diseases Leaves were smoked to attempt to treat pulmonary ailments, a tradition that in America was rapidly transmitted to Native American peoples. The Zuni people, however, use the plant in poultices of powdered root applied to sores, rashes and skin infections. An infusion of the root is also used to treat athletes foot. All preparations meant to be drunk have to be finely filtered to eliminate the irritating hairs.

Oil from the flowers was used against catarrhs, colics and, in Germany, earaches, frostbite, eczema and other external conditions. Topical application of various V. thapsus-based preparations was recommended for the treatment of warts,boils, carbuncles, hemorrhoids, and chilblains, amongst others. Recent studies have found that great mullein contains glycyrrhizin compounds with bactericide and potential anti-tumoral action. These compounds are concentrated in the flowers The German Commission E sanctioned medicinal use of the plant for catarrhs. It was also part of the National Formulary in the United States and United Kingdom. The plants leaves, in addition to the seeds, have been reported to contain rotenone, although quantities are unknown.

KEY WORDS: gidar-tamaku , Verbascum thapsus Linn.