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Verbascum nigrum

Dark mullein

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Christian Fischer

Short Description

The dark mullein can grow up to 1.2 m high.

The leaves grow singly and alternately on the stem. They are oval to elongated. They are light grey hairy on the underside.

The stem is hairy and very angular.

The yellow flowers have long stems and five petals. They stand together in a narrow flower head. The stamens have violet hairs.

The fruits are elongated capsules.

Features

Dark mullein

Verbascum nigrum

  • violet hairy stamens

  • angular and wingless stem

Similar species

White mullein

Verbascum lychnitis
The flower head is branched in a panicle. The stamens of the flowers have whitish hairs.

Dense-flowered mullein

Verbascum densiflorum
The stem is usually winged. Three out of five stamens are densely hairy.

Common evening primrose

Oenothera biennis
It has four petals that are not fused.
Blüten (CC BY-SA 2.0) Solipsist

In the city

In the city, it is relatively common on embankments and bushes.

Various mullein species are offered in garden centres as perennials for the garden.

Fun Facts

  • The flowering period is from June to August.

  • The hairs on the stamens act like pollen dummies and thus attract pollen-collecting insects.

  • It is a perennial plant. This means that a plant lives for several years, but flowers only once and dies after the seeds have ripened.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Habitus (CC0 1.0) AnRo0002

Sources

Habitus, Christian Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VerbascumNigrumHabitus.jpg

Blüten, Solipsist, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Verbascum_nigrum_flowers_closeup.jpg

Habitus, AnRo0002, CC0 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20180626Verbascum_nigrum4.jpg

Spohn, M., Golte-Bechtle, M. & Spohn, R. (2015) Was blüht denn da? Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.

Eggenberg, S. & Möhl, A. (2007) Flora Vegetativa: Ein Bestimmungsbuch für Pflanzen der Schweiz im blütenlosen Zustand, Bern, Stuttgart, Wien: Haupt Verlag.

Jäger, E. J. (2011) Rothmaler - Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Gefäßpflanzen: Grundband, Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.

Kammer, P. M. (2016) Pflanzen einfach bestimmen. Schritt für Schritt einheimische Arten kennenlernen, Bern: Haupt Verlag.

Schauer, T., Caspari, C. & Caspari, S. (2015) Der illustrierte BLV-Pflanzenführer für unterwegs. 1150 Blumen, Gräser, Bäume und Sträucher, München: BLV.

Page „Schwarze Königskerze“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 03.10.2016, 20:42 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schwarze_K%C3%B6nigskerze&oldid=158448161 (Accessed: 27.07.2017).