wildflower
Common mullein
Verbascum thapsus
Low riskNot foodabundant
Woolly first-year rosette, then a tall yellow candle. The cough leaf of dry lots.
Year one is a felted silver-green rosette. Year two is a single woolly stalk with a dense spike of five-petaled yellow flowers.
- Habitat
- Gravel, barn lots, railroad and road cuts.
- Season
- Rosette year-round; flowers June–August.
- Size
- Rosette 1–2 ft across; spike 3–7 ft
- Field marks
- Thick wool on every surface; yellow spike year two
Use
Dried leaf tea (strain the fuzz twice) and steam for a tight cough. Flower oil for an intact eardrum. See Apothecary.