Biorepository Data Portal

Stems slender, to 1.5 m, simple or branched, glandular-hairy above, without branched hairs; lvs variable, narrowly triangular to oblong or lanceolate, sessile, not decurrent, coarsely toothed to subentire, glabrous, the basal larger, oblanceolate; racemes elongate, loose, with a single fl at each node on a pedicel 8-15 mm; cor 2-3 cm wide, yellow or white, usually with an anthocyanic center, the filaments all about equally beset with purple-knobbed hairs; 2n=18, 30, 32. Native of Eurasia, established as a weed in disturbed sites throughout our range. June-Oct.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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Jepson 1993, McDougal 1973

Duration: Biennial Nativity: Non-Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Herbaceous biennials, to 140 cm tall, stems slender, leafy, herbage green and glabrous or more or less glandular pubescent, especially above. Leaves: Cauline leaves 2-12 cm long, sessile and clasping but not decurrent at the base, elliptic or oblong to ovate, margins more or less doubly serrate-crenate, basal leaves in a rosette. Flowers: Yellow or white with a purple base, corollas rotate, 25-30 mm wide, calyx 5-parted, 5-6 mm long, lanceolate, stamens 5, filaments densely bearded with knobbed, purple hairs, flowers 1 per node, borne in an interrupted, terminal raceme which may be up to 50 cm long. Fruits: Ellipsoid to subglobose capsule, 7-8 mm long. Seeds dark gray, less than 1 mm long. Ecology: Found in disturbed areas below 5,500 ft (1676 m). Distribution: Widely distributed in North America. Naturalized from Europe. Notes: If the capsules are present, a good key for this species are the pedicels are much longer than the capsules, if the pedicels are shorter than the capsules, the species is likely V. virgatum. Ethnobotany: Unknown Synonyms: None Editor: LCrumbacher 2011 Etymology: Verbascum is a corrupted form of Barbascum, the ancient Latin name for this plant, while blattaria comes from the Latin name blatta for "moth.-