There are 3 subspecies * V. thapsus subsp. thapsus; type, widespread. In all subspecies but the type, the lower stamens are also pilose (having scattered straight long soft hairs). In subsp. crassifolium, the hairiness is less dense and often absent from the upper part of the anthers, and lower leaves are hardly decurrent and have longer petioles, whereas in subsp. giganteum, the hairs are densely white tomentose, and lower leaves strongly decurrent. Subsp. crassifolium also differs from the type in having slightly larger flowers, which measure 15–30 mm wide, whereas in the type they are 12–20 mm in diameter.Both subsp. giganteum and subsp. crassifolium were originally described as species. Other described subspecies that have not been widely accepted include subsp. martinezii (Valdés) A.Galán and J.A.V.Orellana (=V. giganteum subsp. martinezii Valdés), subsp. litigiosum (=V. litigiosum Samp.) and subsp. langei. |
Native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia. It is a hairy biennial plant that can grow to 2 m or more tall. Its small yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which bolts from a large rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seed require open ground to germinate. It is a very minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is not a very competitive species, being intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive tilling. It also hosts many insects, some of which can be harmful to other plants. Although individuals are easy to remove by hand, populations are difficult to eliminate permanently. It is widely used for herbal remedies with emollient and astringent properties. It is especially recommended for coughs and related problems, but also used in topical applications against a variety of skin problems. The plant was also used to make dyes and torches. Verbascum thapsus is a dicotyledonous biennial that produces a rosette of leaves in its first year of growth.The leaves are large, up to 50 cm long, and are covered with woolly, silvery hairs. The second year plants normally produce a single unbranched stem 1–2 m tall, with some plants reportedly having stems reaching up to 3.5 m tall. In the East of its range in China, it is, however, only reported to grow up to 1.5 m tall. The tall pole-like stems end in a dense spike of flowers, that can occupy up to half the stem length. All parts of the plants are covered with star-shaped trichomes. Its chromosome number is 2n = 36. On flowering plants the leaves are alternately arranged up the stem. The leaves are thick, and decurrent on the stem, with much variation especially between the upper and lower leaves on the stem, with leaf shape ranging from between oblong to oblanceolate, ranging in size up to 50 cm long and 14 cm across (19 inches long and 5 inches wide). They become smaller higher up the stem, and less strongly decurrent lower down the stem. The flowering stem is solid and 2–2.5 cm (nearly an inch) across, and occasionally branched just below the inflorescence, usually when damaged. After flowering and seed release the stem and fruits usually persist in winter after drying into hard, stiff structures topped with densely packed, ovoid shaped, dry seed capsules. The dried stems are most often dark brownish, and often persist standing until the next spring or even into the next summer. The plants produce a shallow taproot.
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