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Verbascum blattaria
Also called White Moth Mullein, White Mullein
Moth mullein is a biennial in the figwort family, a naturalized weed across much of North America. It forms a rosette in year one and sends up a branched flowering stem in year two, and it grows best in full sun in open, well-drained ground.
Verbascum blattaria, the moth mullein, is a flowering biennial plant belonging to the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. A native of Eurasia and North Africa, it has naturalized in the United States and most of Canada since its introduction and has become an invasive species there. It has been declared a noxious weed by the state of Colorado. However, other states, such as Washington, consider it insignificant in terms of competition with native species.
A native of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Verbascum blattaria has naturalized in most of North America since its introduction. It was first recorded in Pennsylvania in 1818, and was recorded in Michigan in 1840. It has since been found in almost every one of the continental United States, as well as in southern Canada and even Hawaii. In the United States, it is found most abundantly along the East Coast.
Even in folk medicine, Verbascum blattaria has not been attributed to a wide range of uses. However, a study conducted in 1974 reported that when a number of Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae were exposed to a methanol extract of moth mullein, at least 53% of the larvae were killed. V. blattaria has also long been known to be an effective cockroach repellent, and the name blattaria is actually derived from the Latin word for cockroach, blatta.
Broussa Mullein · Nettle-leaf mullein · Verbascum dumulosum · Verbascum epixanthinum · Olympic mullein · Orange Mullein · Hoary Mullein · Wavyleaf mullein · Showy mullein · Great Mullein · Mullein
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Verbascum blattaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
