Great mullein

Family: Scrophulariaceae
Scientific name: Verbascum thapsus
Description: Plant Form: Large annual or biennial rosette herb. Size: Up to 3 m tall. Stem: Upright, few branching, often with wings which are actually leaves clasping stem. Leaves: Very large, 8-50 cm long in rosette, with stem leaves smaller and clasping stem higher up. Oval or egg-shaped. Greyish, with a thick covering of short hairs. Flowers: Clustered pale yellow to whitish on a very long spike-like stem above the leaves. Occasionally has smaller flowering stems from leaf joins. Fruit and Seeds: Spherical or egg-shaped capsules up to 1 cm across. Covered in tiny hairs. Containing up to 600 tiny reddish-brown seeds. Habitat: Pastures, roadsides, old gardens, open woodlands, grasslands, waste areas, rocky areas. Distinguishing Features: Distinguished from Twiggy mullein (Verbascum virgatum) by greyish, densely hairy leaves. Weed Status: Priority Weed Weed Type: Environmental, Invasive Garden Escapee Lifeform: Herbaceous

Example images for this weed