''Verbascum nigrum'', the black mullein or dark mullein, is a species of biennial or short-lived

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plant in the mullein genus '' Verbascum'', native to dry open sites in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

Europe. It grows to . ''Verbascum nigrum'' forms clumps of leaves from which arise multiple tall stems of yellow flowers with purple stamens, blooming over a long period in summer and early autumn. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and prefers a

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

or neutral soil in full sun.

Fossil record

A tentative seed identification of ''V. nigrum ''has been made from substage II of the Hoxnian interglacial at Clacton in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, UK.''The History of the British Flora, A Factual Basis for Phytogeography'' by Sir Harry Godwin, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, , 1975 edition page 318

References

nigrum Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Scrophulariaceae-stub