mullein

American  

[muhl-uhn] / ˈmʌl ən /

Or mullen

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Verbascum, of the figwort family, native to the Old World, especially V. thapsus, a tall plant with woolly leaves and a dense spike of yellow flowers.

2. any of several similar plants.

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mullein British  

/ ˈmʌlɪn /

noun

1. any of various European herbaceous plants of the scrophulariaceous genus Verbascum, such as V. thapsus (common mullein or Aaron's rod), typically having tall spikes of yellow flowers and broad hairy leaves See also Aaron's rod

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Etymology

Origin of mullein

1325–75; Middle English moleine < Anglo-French, perhaps derivative of mol soft < Latin mollis

Example Sentences

Self-seeded mullein has grown up around a cracked but intact mosaic of Pegasus.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2021

On a walk Lynx found some deer scat and handed it out, and a bit of stringy inner bark too, some dead limbs, mullein stalks.

From New York Times • Mar. 5, 2020

The meadow was full of mullein, Queen Anne’s lace, clover and phlox.

From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2013

They weigh out more than 1,000 grams of damiana and mullein, a yellow-flowered Mediterranean shrub.

From BusinessWeek • Jun. 16, 2011

Mother dressed the leg in mullein and comfrey salve, her own recipe.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover