Verbascum thapsus - Mullein

Verbascum thapsus is a wild medicinal plant of barren land, also known as Great Mullein. In summer, this plant has tall and fragrant yellow flowers that can reach up to 2m (7ft) high. They emerge from rosettes of large and beautiful leaves covered with an almost white down. When happy in light or rocky soil, this biennial readily self-seeds and grows quickly and straight with generous flowers. This giant is covered in butterflies and bees, irreplaceable in a naturalistic garden.

Great Mullein belongs to the scrophulariaceae family. It is native to dry areas of Eurasia, where it is found in fallow land, along roadsides, on slopes, and in uncultivated meadows, often on poor, chalky, well-drained soil. It is biennial, forming a rosette of leaves in its first year and flowering in its second year. Flowering often marks the death of the plant but it self-seeds widely. This mullein can reach 1.75m (6ft) when in bloom, even more in fertile soil. It grows quickly, reaching its full height in just a few months. Long branched flower stems emerge from a rosette from June to September, depending on the climate, composed of 5-petaled flowers, measuring 3cm (1in), sulphur yellow open cups, tightly packed together and opening along the hairy spike. The large ovate to elliptical leaves are wavy, grey-green, and covered with silky down. This mullein is bee-friendly. After pollination, the plant produces lots of seeds that easily germinate in light soil.

A plant for open spaces and poor soil, Verbascum thapsus is a boon for "impossible" slopes and new gardens. Natural scenes in slightly wild areas of the garden will be transformed by botanical and hybrid varieties of mullein. Accompany them with foxgloves, fraxinella, wild chicory, perennial flax, or marvelous purple fennel. Annuals like marigolds, love-in-a-mist, cosmos, or snapdragons complement this tall plant to create charming flower beds.

Medicinal properties: 

All parts of the plant, flowers, leaves, and roots have medicinal properties. Great Mullein is used to treat dry coughs, earaches, or urinary tract infections.