Verbascum pulverulentum, the hoary mullein,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae.[3] It is native to western, central and southern Europe north to England (where its main range is in East Anglia) and southern Wales.[2] It has been introduced to Austria, Madeira, and Washington state in the USA.[1][4] It is a specialist on coastal shingle, and so is preadapted to human-influenced habitats such as old quarries and gravel pits, road verges, railway embankments, and similar disturbed stony ground.[5]
| Verbascum pulverulentum | |
|---|---|
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| Plant in flower in Italy | |
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| Stem and leaves in Germany, showing the dense pale hairs | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Verbascum |
| Species: | V. pulverulentum
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| Binomial name | |
| Verbascum pulverulentum | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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List
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It is a stout biennial or monocarpic perennial herb growing up to 1.5 m tall, producing flowers and seeds only once, during its second or a later year. The stems and leaves are densely woolly with pale grey to glaucous pubescence. The flowers are yellow, 18–25 mm diameter, with 5 orange stamens, all the stamen stems with dense white hairs.[6][7][2] It can best be distinguished from the similar great mullein (V. thapsus) in all five stamens having dense white hairs on the stem; in V. thapsus, the lower two of the five stamens are hairless or only thinly hairy.[6]
It is the main food plant for the moth Nothris verbascella (Norfolk snout).[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Verbascum pulverulentum Vill". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ a b c P. A. Stroh; T. A. Humphrey; R. J. Burkmar; O. L. Pescott; D. B. Roy; K. J. Walker, eds. (2020). "Hoary Mullein Verbascum pulverulentum Vill". BSBI Online Plant Atlas 2020. Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "Verbascum pulverulentum - Vill". pfaf.org. Plants For A Future. 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "Verbascum pulverulentum hoary mullein". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "Verbascum pulverulentum". brc.ac.uk/plantatlas. Online Atlas of the British and Irish flora. 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. Collins Flower Guide. Harper Collins ISBN 9-78-000718389-0
- ^ Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
- ^ "35.015 Norfolk Snout Nothris verbascella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)". British and Irish Moths. Retrieved 5 September 2024.