Verbascum pulverulentum

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Verbascum pulverulentum
Light:Full Sun
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:3
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Self Pollinated
Life Cycle:Biennial
Height:6'
Blooms:Mid Summer-Late Summer
Native to:
Medicinal Rating:
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Verbascum pulverulentum (common name: hoary mullein)

Propagation: Seed - sow late spring to early summer in a cold frame and only just cover the seed[1]. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 3 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots and plant them out in late summer. The seed has a long viability[1].

Cultivation: Succeeds in most well-drained soils, including dry ones, and prefers a sunny position[1]. Dislikes shade and wet soils[1]. Thrives on chalk[1]. Prefers a light soil[1].

Hybridizes with other members of this genus, though the progeny are usually sterile[1].

Range: Europe, including Britain, from the Netherlands south and east to Spain, Switzerland, Greece.

Habitat: A rare native along roadsides in Norfolk and Suffolk, a rare casual elsewhere[2].

Medicinal: The plant (seeds?) are used to rid the body of tapeworms[3].

Pollinators: Flies, lepidoptera, self

Habit: Biennial

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Known Hazards: The leaves contain rotenone and coumarin, though the quantities are not given[4]. Rotenone is used as an insecticide and coumarin can prevent the blood from clotting[K].

Hairs on the leaves can act as an irritant[4].

Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  2. Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
  3. Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.