Twiggy Mullein - introduced (*Verbascum virgatum)

Family: Scrophulariaceae.

Native of Europe.

Occurrence: Widespread on roadsides, farmland and waste places.

Identification:

• the flowers are large and showy, and have five petals
• the flowers grow along the long, erect central stem
• the filaments (inside the petals) are covered with purple to crimson hairs
• the basal leaves have irregular lobes and the leaf base is narrowed into long stalk
• the leaves become smaller towards the top.

Twiggy Mullein is a garden escape. It is now a widely distributed weed, and is Regionally Prohibited in parts of Victoria.

Similar species: Great Mullein (Verbascum thaspus) is a larger plant with a stouter stem, and most parts are covered with white, woolly hairs.

Photo 1: Twiggy Mullein. Railway Dam, Elphinstone. It grows as an erect plant.
2, 3, 4: Flowers. Happy Valley.