Verbascum thapsus. A tall, woolly biennial with velvety silver-green leaves and a bright yellow flower spike that can reach six feet. Found along roadsides, disturbed soil, and open fields across every continent except Antarctica. First-year plants grow a low rosette of soft, flannel-like leaves. Second year, the stalk shoots up.
One of the oldest known utility plants. The large soft leaves were used as insoles, wound wrappings, and insulation. Dried flower stalks were dipped in tallow and burned as torches or “hag tapers” in folk tradition. Indigenous peoples across North America used the leaves in smoke blends and the roots in various preparations. The Romans called it “candelaria.” Greek soldiers carried it. It has been independently adopted by nearly every culture that encountered it.
It grows where the ground has been broken. It is always the first thing to show up. 🌱
