Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein): Minnesota Wildflowers

Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

Plant Info
Also known as:	Great Mullein
Genus:	Verbascum
Family:	Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)
Life cycle:	biennial
Origin:	Europe
Habitat:	part shade, sun; fields, along roads, waste areas
Bloom season:	June - September
Plant height:	2 to 6 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

A club-shaped spike up to 2 feet long densely packed with ¾ inch yellow flowers. Individual flowers have 5 petals and 5 orange-tipped stamens; only a few flowers are open at a time. Smaller spikes may develop near the base of the main spike, but a single spike is common.

Leaves:

Leaves are large, up to 15 inches long and 5 inches across, becoming progressively smaller as they ascend the main stem. They are thick and soft like felt or flannel, densely covered in short hairs. The shape is generally oval, with a pointed tip. The leaf base tapers to a “winged” leaf stem that extends down the main stem. The leaf edges may have small rounded teeth and may be a little wavy. Attachment is alternate.

Notes:

The first year, Common Mullein is just a rosette of basal leaves, 1 to 2 feet across. The main stem and flowers sprout up the second year. Common Mullein has gone by about 50 different common names, including Velvet Plant, Flannel Plant, Hare's Beard, and others that refer to the leaves.

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More photos

a small group of Common Mullein, the tallest about 5 feet

Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, June 2006 and July 2007

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Mary P.
on: 2008-06-08 17:32:26

You've helped me to put a name to another wild flower that I have taken a picture of in Stearns County.

Posted by: barb c. in Brooklyn Park
on: 2009-07-14 14:10:07

Growing in a flower bed. didnt know if it was a flower or weed.

Posted by: crystal in bagley
on: 2009-07-25 15:24:45

growing beside my driveway, clearwater county, love this site, have used it to put names to all the wildflowers growing in the woods of my new home.

Posted by: Sue in Northeast shore Clear Lake
on: 2009-08-16 12:25:36

Sparse, first year plants. Very, very thick and soft leaves without spikes at this time. Obvious to us why they are called "Beggar's Blanket"!

Posted by: Roxanne P in Oak Grove and East Bethel
on: 2009-08-20 17:04:02

We have alot of these.

Posted by: Mark in Oakdale Nature Preserve, Oakdale MN
on: 2010-06-19 17:10:24

Large colony of these in the meadow southwest of the Discovery Center, in an area where a large pile of wood chips was dumped after a heavy windstorm several years ago.

Posted by: Mike in Lino Lakes
on: 2010-07-25 07:55:19

Have a hill I have been cultivating as a prairie grass environment. This plant is persistent. It establishes itself among plants that one really can't see if he isn't on top of it. Easily obscured first year by the bergamot, etc that grows much higher. My wife likes it but I see thick stands of it along I-94 that are really not very pretty at all. Am grateful for this site. Knowing it is an invasive species, I plan to do battle again in a week or so...