[[File:Starr 040723-0030 Verbascum thapsus.jpg|thumb|right|''Verbascum thapsus'']]
'''Verbascum thapsus''' (great mullein or common mullein) is a species of mullein native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia.
It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tall or more. Its small==Uses=={{Uses|cough}}, yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem{{Uses|bronchitis}}, which grows from a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats{{Uses|asthma}}, but prefers well-lit{{Uses|whooping cough}}, disturbed soils{{Uses|Insomnia}}, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light{{Uses|hemorrhoids}}, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds{{Uses|Diarrhea}}, but it rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seeds require open ground to germinate. It is a very minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is not a very competitive species, being intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive tilling. It also hosts many insects, some of which can be harmful to other plants. Although individuals are easy to remove by hand, populations are difficult to eliminate permanently.{{Uses|Sore throats}}
It is widely used for herbal remedies==Parts Used=={{Parts Used|Leaves}}, with well-established emollient and astringent properties. Mullein remedies are especially recommended for coughs and related problems{{Parts Used|flowers}}, but also used in topical applications against a variety of skin problems. The plant has also been used to make dyes and torches.{{Parts Used|root}}
== Description Chemical Composition==The flowers contain gum, resin, a yellow colouring principle, a green fatty matter (a sort of chlorophyll), a glucoside, an acrid, fatty matter; free acid and phosphoric acid; uncrystallizable sugar<ref name="chemical composition"/>
V. thapsus is a dicotyledonous plant that produces a rosette of leaves in its first year of growth. The leaves are large, up to 50 cm long. The second-year plants normally produce a single unbranched stem, usually 1–2 m tall. In the eastern part of its range in China, it is, however, only reported to grow up to 1.5 m tall.<ref name="des"/> The tall, pole-like stems end in a dense spike of flowers[1] that can occupy up to half the stem length. All parts of the plants are covered with star-shaped trichomes. This cover is particularly thick on the leaves, giving them a silvery appearance. The species' chromosome number is 2n = 36.Common names=={{Common names|kn=|ml=|sa=|ta=|te=|hi=|en=Agrimony}}
On flowering plants==Properties==Reference: Dravya - Substance, the leaves are alternately arranged up the stem. They are thick and decurrentRasa - Taste, with much variation in leaf shape between the upper and lower leaves on the stemGuna - Qualities, ranging from oblong to oblanceolateVeerya - Potency, and reaching sizes up to 50 cm long and 14 cm across (19 inches long and 5 inches wide). They become smaller higher up the stemVipaka - Post-digesion effect, and less strongly decurrent down the stem. The flowering stem is solid and 2–2.5 cm (nearly an inch) across, and occasionally branched just below the inflorescence, usually following damage. After flowering and seed release, the stem and fruits usually persist in winter, drying into dark brownKarma - Pharmacological activity, stiff structures of densely packed, ovoidPrabhava -shaped, and dry seed capsules. The dried stems may persist into the following spring or even the next summer. The plant produces a shallow taprootTherepeutics.===Dravya===
== Uses =Rasa===Tikta (Bitter), Kashaya (Astringent)===Guna===Laghu (Light), Ruksha (Dry), Tikshna (Sharp)===Veerya===Ushna (Hot)===Vipaka===Katu (Pungent)===Karma===Kapha, Vata===Prabhava===
*Great mullein has been used since ancient times as a remedy for skin, throat and breathing ailments. It has long had a medicinal reputation, especially as an astringent and emollient, as it contains mucilage, several saponins, coumarin and glycosides.==Habit==* Dioscorides recommended it for diseases of the lung and it is now widely available in health and herbal stores. Non-medical uses have included dyeing and making torches.*Leaf decoctions or herbal teas were used for expectoration, consumption, dry cough, bronchitis, sore throat and hemorrhoids. *Oil from the flowers was used against catarrhs, colics and, in Germany, earaches, frostbite, eczema and other external conditions.<ref name="uses"/>{{Habit|Herb}}
==Identification==
===Leaf===
{{Leaf|Simple|alternate|The leaves are lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets}}<ref name="Leaf"/>
==Common name=Flower==={{Flower|Unisexual|2-4cm long|Yellow|5|the flower is bilaterally symmetrical}}
===Fruit==={{Fruit|General|7–10 mm|the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe||-}} ===Other features=== ==List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used==* [[Vishatinduka Taila]] as '''English'root juice extract'' - Great mullein ==Where to get the saplings====Mode of Propagation=={{Propagation|Seeds}}, {{Propagation|Cuttings}}. ==How to plant/cultivate==Typical growing conditions are full sun and mesic to dry soil that often contains clay or stony material. The foliage is little bothered by pests and disease, although some of the lower leaves may wither away during a drought. The seeds can lie dormant in the soil for several decades and remain capable of germination.<ref name="How to plant/cultivate"/> ==Commonly seen growing in areas=={{Commonly seen|Temperate Asia}}, {{Commonly seen|Himalayas}}, {{Commonly seen|The Channel Islands}}. ==Photo Gallery==<gallery class="left" caption="" widths="140px" heights="140px">20160617Verbascum thapsus1.jpg 20160617Verbascum thapsus2.jpg 20170613Verbascum thapsus.jpg Frankfurt Oder Dachsberge 03892.JPG
== References ==
Verbascum thapsus carriere-saint-maximin 60 01072008 01.jpg 20160919Verbascum thapsus3.jpg </gallery> ==References== <references><ref name="deschemical composition">[http://wwwbotanical.eflorascom/botanical/mgmh/m/mulgre63.orghtml "chemical constituents"]</florataxon.aspx?flora_idref> <ref name=2&taxon_id=200021301 "Verbascum Leaf">[https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/verbascum/thapsus/ "plant Characteristics". Flora of China]</ref> <ref name="usesHow to plant/cultivate">[http://botanicalwww.illinoiswildflowers.cominfo/botanicalweeds/mgmhplants/m/mulgre63great_mullein.html htm "Mullein, Greatcultivation details"]</ref>
</references>
== External Links ==* [https://www.motherearthliving.com/plant-profile/herb-to-know-mullein-verbascum-thapsus Verbascum thapsus on motherearthliving.com]* [http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=287011&isprofile=0& Verbascum thapsus on missouri botonical garden]*[https://enkeyserver.wikipedialucidcentral.org/wikiweeds/Verbascum_thapsus data/media/Html/verbascum_thapsus.htm Verbascum thapsuson keyserver.lucidcentral.org]* [http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/great_mullein.htm Verbascum thapsus on illinoiswildflowers.information]
[[Category:Herbs]]
