An erect, woolly stem rising from a rosette of thick, velvety, basal leaves and bearing a tightly packed, spike-like cluster of yellow flowers and white-woolly stem leaves.

3/4-1" wide, nearly radially symmetrical, very short-stalked or stalkless; petals 5, united; stamens 5; pistil 1.

Basal ones to 1' long, oblong, stalked; upper ones smaller, stalkless, with bases continuing down stem as thin ridges or wings.

Many-seeded capsule.

2-7'.

June-September.

Field, roadsides, and waste places.

Naturalized from Europe, this biennial with very velvety leaves has long been used for many purposes. Roman soldiers purportedly dipped the flower spikes in grease for use as torches, and the leaves are still sometimes used as wicks. Native Americans lined their moccasins with the leaves to keep out the cold, and colonists used them in their stockings for the same purpose. A tea made from the leaves was used to treat colds, and the flowers and roots were employed to treat various ailments from earache to croup. The leaves are sometimes applied to the skin to soothe sunburn and other inflammations. Similar to Common Mullein is Orange Mullein (V.phlomoides), the leaves of which do not continue down the stem as thin ridges or wings (or only slightly so); its flowers are 1-1 1/2" wide.