Verbascum thapsus
Copyright, Tom Remaley,
Plant
Conservation
Alliance, Alien
Plant Working Group Robert R. Kowal,
Wisconsin State Herbarium Common Mullein is a
weed
usually found in waste
places (open
areas where the ground has been disturbed). Other places it
grows include fields,
roadsides, streamsides, gardens, and forest openings. It
doesn't like shade. Mullein is usually
recognized by its tall flower
spikes, which can be 10 feet tall. It has pretty flowers,
but only a few bloom at a time, so most people don't think
mullein is very attractive. Common Mullein is a
pioneer
plant, so it is one of the first plants to grow in a place
that has burned or otherwise been disturbed. Merel R. Black, Wisconsin
State Herbarium
Copyright, Jim Stasz,
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database Mullein is
biennial,
so it lives for two years. The first year, this plant grows
a rosette,
but no flower stalk.
The rosette survives through Winter, and the flower stalk
grows the second year. At the end of the second year, the
plant dies. The rosette
leaves
are large and soft. They are bluish-green and grow up to 12
inches long and 5 inches wide. Most people compare the soft
surface of a leaf to felt. Common Mullein flowers
are yellow with five petals. Flowers are about an inch wide.
They bloom a few at a time from June to
September. Mullein produce huge
numbers of seeds.
One mullein plant may make over 100,000 seeds in a year.
Seeds can survive almost any conditions and can last up to
100 years. Since mullein can't grow in shade, the seeds can
lay in the soil, waiting until plants around them die or are
removed.
Copyright 1990, Arthur H. Bazell, M.D.
Common Mullein was
introduced
to Virginia from Europe many years ago. It grows faster than
many of our native
plants, and can crowd out other pioneers in a field. Later,
when grasses
take over the field, mulleins can't compete,
so they die, leaving only their dead flower
stalks. Only a few animals use
mullein for food. Certain species of thrips, stinkbugs,
weevils, and leaf bugs will eat mullein leaves; but these
are insects which were brought over from Europe.
Short-horned Grasshoppers, such as the Differential
Grasshopper, will also eat leaves. American Goldfinches,
Indigo Buntings, and a few other birds eat mullein
seeds. Common Mullein provide
shelter
for insects in the winter. Since rosettes survive through
the cold weather, leaves provide warm and protection for
ladybugs, plant bugs, and black bugs, among
others. Robert W. Freckman,
Wisconsin State Herbarium
Virginia Ducey, Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Hummingbirds sometimes
use the soft leaves to line their nests. Many insects come to
mullein flowers for nectar.
Bumble bees, honey bees, and hover flies help
pollinate
these plants. Several species of
fungi
become parasites
of Common Mullein, including Powdery Mildew. Common Mullein grows best
in dry, sandy soil. Other plants which may be
found near Common Mullein include weeds and grasses, such as
Smooth Crabgrass, Common Dandelion, Switchgrass, English
Plantain, Common Milkweed, thistles, Common Ragweed, Lamb's
Quarters, Queen Anne's Lace, and Jimsonweed. Walter Hodge, USF
Herbarium
Copyright 1998, Nick Kurzenko