Verbascum thapsus
common mullein [Blooms: Jun-Aug]
Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) flowers and fruit. Bottom right: a common mullein flower viewed face on. The cluster of three, hairy stamens above and two largely hairless stamens below is apparent, as is the single green style. Top right: a lateral view of a common mullein flower. The two lower, largely hairless stamens are clearly longer than the three upper stamens and the green style is obvious. Left: a common mullein inflorescence late in the season; all the flowers except for one (on the lower left) have been fertilized and are developing the characteristic two-chambered seedpod nestled among the remnants of the sepals. Immature seedpods are green; mature seedpods are brown.
The apex of the common mullein plant is a club-shaped flower spike 6-24″ long, covered with scattered light-yellow flowers each 3/4″ across. Individual flowers have five hairy, green sepals; five pale yellow petals (the lower two slightly larger than the upper three); five stamens with reddish-orange anthers; and a single green style with a heart- or disc-shaped stigma. The upper three stamens are shorter than the other two stamens and covered with white or yellow hairs; the lower two stamens are longer and largely hairless. The fruit is an oval, two-celled seed capsule, brown when mature, each cell filled with numerous (25-150) tiny orange to brown seeds. Common mullein is immediately recognizable and impossible to confuse with any other local plant.
Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) leaves. Bottom right: the first-year basal rosette of a common mullein in late April. The plant is easily recognizable by the velvety leaves. Bottom left: a common mullein plant in its second year, after it has bolted and produced the sizeable, erect stem. Note the very large basal and lower stem leaves, visible here because of the lack of other ground cover. Top right: a series of alternate stem leaves of common mullein; the blades of the leaves extend past the leaf node, down the stem. Top left: the underside of a small stem leaf showing the prominent veins and heavy covering of hairs.
Common mullein (aka, great mullein) is a biennial exotic native to the Old World. It had already been introduced to North America by the mid 1700s and reached the Midwest by 1839; it is now naturalized throughout most of North America. It looks like a plant that escaped from a science fiction movie — up to seven feet tall, with weirdly fuzzy leaves up to a 15″ long. During its first year, common mullein produces a basal rosette 1-2 feet across. The basal leaves are 3-20″ long, sessile or with a short, winged petiole, and densely hairy. During its second year, the plant bolts, quickly producing an aggressively erect stem 3-7 feet tall (usually unbranched), densely woolly with white hairs and bearing alternate stem leaves that are oval with a blunt tip. Both the stem itself and the stem leaves are densely covered with fine white hairs; they are whitish- or greyish-green. The blade of the stem leaves is oval with a texture like felt. The lower stem leaves are up to 15″ long and 5″ across, tapering gradually to a winged base; the upper stem leaves fuse with the stem but the wings of the leaf base continue on down the stem.
Two common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plants. The one on the left was growing in a shaded area along the trail west of DuSable Lake Shore Drive; the plant on the right was growing in a more vegetated habitat on the west side of Wooded Island. An enlarged pair of common mullein flowers is shown in the insert at center top.
Common mullein (aka, great mullein) is a biennial exotic native to the Old World. It had already been introduced to North America by the mid 1700s and reached the Midwest by 1839; it is now naturalized throughout most of North America. It looks like a plant that escaped from a science fiction movie — up to seven feet tall, with weirdly fuzzy leaves up to a 15″ long. During its first year, common mullein produces a basal rosette 1-2 feet across. The basal leaves are 3-20″ long, sessile or with a short, winged petiole, and densely hairy. During its second year, the plant bolts, quickly producing an aggressively erect stem 3-7 feet tall (usually unbranched), densely wooly with white hairs and bearing alternate stem leaves that are oval with a blunt tip. Both the stem itself and the stem leaves are densely covered with fine white hairs; they are whitish- or greyish-green. The blade of the stem leaves is oval with a texture like felt. The lower stem leaves are up to 15″ long and 5″ across, tapering gradually to a winged base; the upper stem leaves fuse with the stem but the wings of the leaf base continue on down the stem. The apex of the plant is a club-shaped flower spike 6-24″ long, covered with scattered light-yellow flowers each 3/4″ across. Individual flowers have five hairy, green sepals; five pale yellow petals (the lower two slightly larger than the upper three); five stamens with reddish-orange anthers; and a single green style with a heart- or disc-shaped stigma. The upper three stamens are shorter than the other two stamens and covered with white or yellow hairs; the lower two stamens are longer and largely hairless. The fruit is an oval, two-celled seed capsule, brown when mature, each cell filled with numerous (25-150) tiny orange to brown seeds. Common mullein is immediately recognizable and impossible to confuse with any other local plant.
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![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Hairy evening primrose produves an elongating spike of flowers arises from the apex of the stem; flowers bloom near the tip while older flowers and seed capsules develop below. Individual flowers are 3/4-1.5" across; they sit on a long floral tube with the ovary at its base (attached to a leaf axil). The flowers have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; at the base of the flower are four sepals 3/8-3/4" long, reflected back along the floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. The sepals are often red-striped or red-tinged. Note the long, hairy floral tube below the sepals, the reddish stem, and glandular hairs with red bases on the ovary. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is up to 1.75" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four tiny lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_villosa-1t-300x300.jpg)
