Mullein
Botanical name: Verbascum
Mullein
Botanical name: Verbascum
Description
Mullein comprise a large group of flowering plants in the figwort family that sport sturdy stems and saucer-shaped flowers. The foliage is fuzzy and has a silvery sheen. Most wild species are found in stony hillsides or open woodlands. As cultivated garden plants, they work well in cottage, gravel, or rock gardens. Mullein are sometimes known as "Beggar's Blanket" because poor people would line their shoes with the leaves for warmth hundreds of years ago.
Species of Mullein
Purple mullein 'Temptress Purple'
Purple mullein 'Temptress Purple' is a cultivar from the figwort family bred for its hardiness and compact size. It is a shorter growing plant, popular in container gardens. It can also withstand colder temperatures, above freezing, unlike other plants in the genus. The plant’s name "Temptress Purple" refers to the stunning deep purple flowers that bloom in the summer.
Showy mullein
The plant blooms in a large panicle with many branches lined with flowers. Each flower has a corolla measuring 2 to 3 cm wide with five yellow petals. There are five stamens coated in long white hairs at the center. The fruit is a capsule up to 7 millimeters in length containing many seeds.
Mulleins 'Dark Eyes'
Mulleins 'Dark Eyes', a mullein cultivar, offers an abundance of rosettes of crisp-green leaves and masses of buttery-yellow flowers with dark red eyes (thus the name). The cultivar has a long blooming season, lasting from late spring through to late summer. It is favored for its resistance to deer and rabbits, and for its drought tolerance.
Mulleins 'Helen Johnson'
Mulleins 'Helen Johnson', a mullein cultivar, is a perennial with wrinkled, gray-green leaves and erect spikes of coppery-pink-orange flowers with dark eyes. Gardeners appreciate this cultivar for its beauty but also its hardiness - mulleins 'Helen Johnson' is drought-tolerant and has no serious disease or insect problems.
Chaix's mullein 'Album'
Chaix's mullein 'Album' is a cultivar of Chaix's mullein bred for the color of its flowers. The plant features white flowers with prominent mauve centers, which differentiate chaix's mullein 'Album' from its mother plant whose flower petals are yellow. It's a hardy perennial, highly valued as an addition to cottage gardens.
Annual mullein
Annual mullein is a biennial herb that is drought tolerant and often utilized in xeriscaping for its bronze-colored foliage. It usually blooms during the late spring/early summer. Annual mullein is poisonous if ingested and is less oval-shaped and 'toothy-leaved' than its most closely related relatives (to establish distinction).
Wavyleaf mullein
Wavyleaf mullein (Verbascum sinuatum) is an herbaceous shrub named for its shape; the plant grows in a shaggy form reminiscent of a man's beard (thus the Latin root barbascum reflected in the genus name) and the leaves of this species have a wavy margin (sinuatum). Wavyleaf mullein flowers are unique in that they will shed their petals within about 30 seconds after being touched or damaged.
Black mullein
Black mullein is a super tough and long-lived perennial that often dies after flowering. This deciduous plant has beautiful yellow and purple flowers that usually attract birds, bees, moths, and other pollinators. This plant is native to Europe and the Mediterranean. The flowers and leaves can treat various respiratory diseases, including cough, asthma, and throat irritations.
Moth mullein
Moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria) is a biennial plant that grows in wastelands and farms. It resembles an orchid with white or yellow flowers that are clustered along the stalk. It multiplies rapidly and is considered an invasive weed. Plant parts have been used for centuries as a natural cockroach repellent. Grows from 30 to 91 cm tall.
Orange mullein
Orange mullein (Verbascum phlomoides) is an indigenous Eurasian species that has naturalized across North America. It is a drought-tolerant plant cultivated ornamentally for its large leaves and yellow flowers that bloom on tall spikes during summer. Its flowers have a faint honey-like scent.
Purple mullein
The flowers of purple mullein can vary in color, from deep pink to purple, or white. However, the subspecies Verbascum phoeniceum subsp. flavidum forms yellow petals and it's found throughout Greece. The differences in purple mullein anatomy occur depending on the soil type.
White mullein
White mullein (Verbascum lychnitis) is a hermaphroditic species (which means it has both male and female organs). It's originally from Eurasia, and is a favorite food of the Mullein Moth. In some parts of the world, people use it as a rodent repellant.
Dense-flowered mullein
Dense-flowered mullein is biennial plant with rosette forming flowers. This plant is a dynamic accumulator, gathering much needed nutrients from the soil and storing it in its roots. It is closely related to and may be confused with Verbascum Phlomoides. It is known to create hybrids within its own genus and will self-sow but can not grow in the shade.
Mulleins 'Sugar Plum'
Mulleins 'Sugar Plum' comprise a large group of flowering plants in the figwort family that sport sturdy stems and saucer-shaped flowers. The foliage is fuzzy and has a silvery sheen. Most wild species are found in stony hillsides or open woodlands. As cultivated garden plants, they work well in cottage, gravel, or rock gardens. Mulleins 'Sugar Plum' are sometimes known as "Beggar's Blanket" because poor people would line their shoes with the leaves for warmth hundreds of years ago.
Mulleins 'Jackie'
Mulleins 'Jackie' comprise a large group of flowering plants in the figwort family that sport sturdy stems and saucer-shaped flowers. The foliage is fuzzy and has a silvery sheen. Most wild species are found in stony hillsides or open woodlands. As cultivated garden plants, they work well in cottage, gravel, or rock gardens. Mulleins 'Jackie' are sometimes known as "Beggar's Blanket" because poor people would line their shoes with the leaves for warmth hundreds of years ago.
Mulleins 'Lavender Lass'
Mulleins 'Lavender Lass' offers densely packed rosettes of green hairy leaves. It has a show of stunning saucer-shaped, lavender to lavender-pink flowers with deep pink eyes. This mullein cultivar is named for its sweet, lavender flowers. It is popular for its drought tolerance and resistance to browsing by deer.
Sardinian Mullein
Sardinian Mullein is a wildflower that can be found in dry and rocky habitats. Its yellow flowers bloom in early summer and attract a variety of insects.
Verbascum × hybrida 'Southern Charm’
Verbascum × hybrida 'Southern Charm’ comprise a large group of flowering plants in the figwort family that sport sturdy stems and saucer-shaped flowers. The foliage is fuzzy and has a silvery sheen. Most wild species are found in stony hillsides or open woodlands. As cultivated garden plants, they work well in cottage, gravel, or rock gardens. Verbascum × hybrida 'Southern Charm’ are sometimes known as "Beggar's Blanket" because poor people would line their shoes with the leaves for warmth hundreds of years ago.
Aaron's Rod
Aaron's Rod (Verbascum virgatum) is a perennial herb that will grow from 91 to 183 cm tall. It blooms from spring to fall. Blossoms grow along a flower stalk and are yellow with a purple center. Seeds appear after blooming appearing pink to dull purple and changing to golden brown as they ripen in fall. It has been growing in the wild for hundreds of years. Commonly found growing in the West along sea cliffs and banks.
Hoary mullein
Hoary mullein is native to the British Isles and western Europe. It blooms in summer and produces flowers that are most commonly bright yellow but spring also be orange red-brown purple blue or even white. Because of its showy flowers many cultivars of Verbascum pulverulentum have earned the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
Nettle-leaved mullein
Nettle-leaved mullein (Verbascum chaixii) is a showy but cozy touch for your cottage garden or flower bed as a vertical accent. They also make an excellent cut flower. Nettle-leaved mullein is easy to please and will grow in rocky areas. It is drought-resistant, and deer don't like to munch on it, making it a no-brainer choice to grow!
Common mullein
Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) has been cultivated by farmers and gardeners since colonial times. This herb has a thick stem and leaves covered with a layer of “fur” that feels like flannel. Today, it grows wild in many areas of the U.S., including roadsides and vacant lots. Flowers of common mullein are occasionally brewed into a tea.
Scientific Classification
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