WEEDS OP THE FIGWOET FAMILY. 131 



blossom and carefully and thoroughly dried. The petals absorb 

 moisture quickly and when dry must be kept in tightly corked 

 bottles. Both are sold under the name of verbascum. the leaves 

 bringing from 3 to 5 cents and the petals 25 to 75 cents a pound. 

 Although an immigrant from Europe, it is said to be much more 

 common in its adopted country — "the land of the free" — not only 

 for humans but for weeds. John Burroughs in his "October 

 Abroad" says: "I have come three thousand miles to see the mul- 

 len cultivated in a garden and christened 'the velvet plant.' " In 

 Europe it has more than 20 common names, one of which is "hag- 

 taper," as its stalks were once used for candle wicks and funeral 

 torches and were supposed to be borne about by witches while 

 tending their cauldrons of stewing herbs. 



9t>. Verbascum blattakia L. Moth Mullen. (B. I. 2.) 



Erect, slender, glabrous, simple, 2-4 feet high ; upper leaves oblong or 

 ovate, toothed, pointed, sessile or clasping, J-2 inches long; lower and 

 basal ones often short-stalked, sometimes 1 foot long. Flowers short- 

 stemmed in a long slender raceme; corolla yellow or cream-colored with 

 a brown or purplish eye; stamens with violet hairs. Seeds very small. 

 6- sided, brown, pitted. 



Frequent in open pastures, timothy meadows and along road- 

 sides in dry soil. June-Oct. Both it and the common mullen 

 differ from other figworts in having wheel-shaped, not- 2-lipped, 

 corollas and 5 instead of 2 or 4 stamens. The moth mullen is said 

 to repel cockroaches, whence the specific name blattario, the first 

 name of the more common roach being Blatta. The odor of its 

 flowers is delicate and pleasing, sufficient to attract unto themselves 

 many a moth and other insect. One which is usually to be found 

 on it and its larger cousin, is a small, thick-bodied, grayish snout 

 beetle,* whose young live in the pods and feed upon the mullen 

 seeds. As a weed of timothy meadows the moth rnullen takes high 

 rank since its seeds are very common among those of timothy. 

 Remedies: hoe cutting in early spring; cultivation; clean timothy 



97. Linabia linakia L. Butter and Eggs. Toad-flax. Ranstead. (P. I. 2.) 

 Stems slender, erect, pale green, 1-3 feet high ; leaves very numerous, 

 mostly alternate, linear, sessile, entire. Flowers in a dense terminal raceme ; 

 corolla 2-lipped, spurred at the base, pale yellow, the throat orange-colored, 

 the awl-shaped spur darker and almost as long as the remainder of the 

 corolla; stamens 4, 2 long, 2 short. Seeds numerous, black, winged, 1/12 

 inch across. (Fig. 94.) 



*Gymnetron teter Fa!?, 



