Botanical name: Verbascum thapsus
Folk names: Aaron’s rod, candlewick plant

Type: Biennial

Wildlife: Hosts many insects, including bees and hoverflies, with some species of bees using hairs from the leaves to make nests. Bumblebees and honeybees. Mullein moth caterpillar feeds on the foliage.

Flowers: June to August

Decorative merit: Yellow flower spike about 30cm growing from a solitary stem up to 2m tall in its second year after planting. Grows from a rosette of large, soft, silvery leaves.  

Where: Well-drained ground in garden border or mini meadow patch. Open, sunny. Tolerates chalk and sandy soils, and part-shade. Flowers best in poor, dry soil.

Folklore: After being dried, the spoke was dipped in tallow and burned to give light at outdoor gatherings. Carrying mullein was believed to ward off wild beasts, curses and evil spirits, and Ulysses carried it to shield him from the powers of Circe.

Donate seeds to Exeter Seed Bank