Common mullein
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. January 2018.
Scientific name: Verbascum thapsus L.
Common name(s): common mullein, great mullein
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- early May
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- leaf detail
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- young plants
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- last year’s flower/seed spike persists over winter
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- in flower, late July
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- flower detail
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- leaves, late July
Description:
– biennial
-leaves are
- basal
- rosette
- felt-like
- alternate
-can grow to 6 feet in height
– generally flowers July to September in ME
Habitat:
-disturbed sites
-cliffs
-meadows and fields
-ridges
Natural History:
-native to Eurasia and Africa
-introduced for fish poison
Source(s):
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
Go Botany. “Verbascum Thapsus L.” Verbascum Thapsus (Common Mullein): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/verbascum/thapsus/.