MOTH MULLEIN 



Leaves. — Alternate, oblong, ovate or lanceolate, with 

 irregular dentate margin; the upper leaves heart-shaped 

 or clasping at base. 



Flowers. — White or yellow, on short peduncles, borne 

 in long, loose terminal racemes. 



Calyx. — Five-parted, with slender, 

 recurved tips. 



Corolla. — White or yellow, wheel- 

 shaped, slightly concave, five-lobed; 

 lobes a little unequal, the upper ex- 

 terior, at least in the bud. Fragile, 

 drops easily. 



Stamens. — Five, unequal; filaments 

 covered with violet hairs; anthers 

 orange, conspicuous. 



Pistil. — Ovary one; style dilated 

 and flattened at the summit. 



Fruit. — Globose, depressed capsule, 

 many-seeded. 



The Moth Mullein has singularly 

 attractive flowers, in structure very 

 similar to those of the Great Mul- 

 lein, though growing on quite a dif- 

 ferent stem and considerably 

 larger, often an inch across. What one notices at first 

 is the purple- violet heart of the blossom emphasized by 

 the five orange-yellow anthers. The buds are flat and 

 five-angled, and suggest green buttons. The plant is 

 often seen in meadows in August, standing one to two 

 feet high, evidently stems that by height or weak- 

 ness had escaped the mowing-machine. Whether the 

 corolla cups are white or yeUow the centres are violet- 

 orange. 



Moth Mullein. 

 Verbdscum blattaria 



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