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Often seen along roadsides that border fields, out in the bright sunlight, and I think that's where they bloom best. But even at their best, their bloom isn't very impressive. This one is in a shady place in my field. I was waiting for it to bloom properly, but it never did — just a lame little pale-yellow blossom here and there, like this:
The leaves and stem are covered in little hairs that, under a microscope, look like leafless trees. (Or so the experts tell me.)
2 comments:
The Grand Mullein is a most wonderful plant. I won't classify it as a weed as a weed is a plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered. The folklore and history of this plant are amazing. Our Colonial forefathers used the plant for many things. The Grand Mullein's leaves are most beautiful. They send up many spires as flowers. That is how it got one of its folk names as the Witch's Candelabra. Rumor has it that witches would dip the spires in oil and then light them. their huge leaves were used in dressing wounds. I let them grow wherever they want in my garden out of respect for their history.
"Witch's Candelabra" -- I like that! :)
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