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makes mullein droughtresistant, for it can reach deep into the earth for water. It survives mowing for the same reason.
Great mullein is a graceless plant, yet one of interest. Up close, its irregularly placed yellow flowers seem to bloom in a haphazard manner. The flowers, with five rounded lobes, are about an inch across and look like off-centered wheels.
Mullein is here to stay, along with the other "invasive aliens" — those plants that are displacing and crowding out native species. Japanese honeysuckle and kudzu are the most troublesome species, along with garlic mustard.
It's the large woolly-hairy, grayish-green leaves -r— nearly a foot long — that are the most intriguing aspect of mullein.
Mullein is a biennial, a plant that takes two years to reach maturity, flower and produce seeds. The plant starts out as an evergreen rosette of leaves that hug the ground. The tall flowering stalk is sent up the second year to define the summer fields in the Virginia piedmont.
Sheep and cattle leave mullein alone. The "wool" of the leaf discourages chomping, for what feels like velvet to touch is made up of tiny, many-pronged hairs. Even deer avoid this plant.
I often speculate about the European and Asian plants that are everywhere in this part of Virginia. Why were they brought to the New World? Of course, many of them weren't brought on purpose. Their seeds came in the ballast of ships, clinging to the great stones put aboard sailing ships to ensure their stability in the water for the trip to the New World.
There can be no doubt that mullein was brought on purpose. Its multitude of common names indicates that it has been wellknown and possibly useful in the past. It is
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