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Verbascum thapsus
Also called Common mullein, Aaron's Rod, Mullein, Blanketweed, Flannel Mullein, Flannelleaf, Flannelplant
Great mullein is a hairy biennial that forms a large silvery leaf rosette in year one, then sends up a tall spike of small yellow flowers in year two. It is a common weed in disturbed, sunny ground and grows readily from seed.
Verbascum thapsus, the great mullein, greater mullein or common mullein, is a species of mullein native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia, and introduced in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand.
It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tall or more. Its small, yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which grows from a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit, disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, and has become invasive in temperate world regions. It is a minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is not a competitive species, being intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive tilling.
V. 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, Kashmir and south to the Himalayas. In northern Europe, it grows from sea level up to 1,850 m altitude, while in China it grows at 1,400–3,200 m altitude.
Moth Mullein · Broussa Mullein · Nettle-leaf mullein · Verbascum dumulosum · Verbascum epixanthinum · Olympic mullein · Orange Mullein · Hoary Mullein · Wavyleaf mullein · Showy mullein · Mullein
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Verbascum thapsus 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.
