Verbascum densiflorum
Large-flowered mullein ( Verbascum densiflorum )
The Large-flowered mullein ( Verbascum densiflorum ) is a plant which belongs to the genus of mullein ( Verbascum ).
Description
The Large-flowered mullein grows as overwintering green, biennial herbaceous plant that plant height usually 50 to 120 (sometimes up to 300) can achieve centimeter. You only flowers once. It shows a special drought adaptation: The above-ground parts of plants are densely woolly hairy tomentose with tree- shaped trichomes, this causes a radiation and evaporation protection. The stems are winged by running down leaf margins. The alternate on the stem arranged leaves are decurrent on the stem. The simple, large leaf blade is oblong elliptical. The wrinkled - pitted leaf blade is hairy on both sides densely yellowish to gray-green, tomentose. The leaf margin is coarsely notched, serrated cut up.
The flowers are borne in a terminal, long roller- union inflorescence and flower from June to September from the bottom up gradually. The total inflorescence is a Thyrse, which is composed of mostly four - ( two to nine ) - blooded zymösen partial inflorescences. The peduncle is short. Stalked flowers very short. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and about fünfzählig double perianth with a diameter of 35 to 50 mm. The five petals are not or slightly translucent and bright golden yellow dotted by Flavonoids and in accordance with high UV reflection. The scar is club-shaped.
The brown, septizidale fruit capsule contains fine seeds.
Ecology
The Large-flowered mullein is a biennial half rosette plant. It has different drought adaptations: The leaves are wrinkled, pitted, (is derived whereby the rain to the root ) on the stem decurrent. In addition, the plant with a dense felt tree- shaped hair is coated, which serve as radiation and evaporation protection.
The flowers are weak bilaterally symmetrical " pollen - disk flowers " and are in knäueligen winding, which are combined into a total aged men inflorescence. The pollen is only in the morning to 10 clock. The corolla is yellow by flavonoids and has a high UV reflection. The stamens are unequal: The top three are densely hairy, the lower two bald. The wool hairs were formerly known as " food hair " interpreted today one sees in them rather anther dummies. The flowers are vorweiblich; the fact that spike -like inflorescences Hymenoptera always to fly from the bottom up, cross-pollination is encouraged. Other insects as pollinators come into question.
The fruits are loculicidal capsules with 300 tiny seeds. For each 200 flowers per plant that is about 60,000 seeds. The propagation occurs as wind and animal shakers. The seeds are balloonists, light and frost germinator. Fruit ripening takes place from September to October.
Locations
One finds the Large-flowered mullein weeds scattered in sunny meadows, on dumps, roadsides, embankments, banks, even in forest beats. It prefers dry to fresh, nutrient-rich, mostly calcareous soils. After Ellenberg it is a light plant with intermediate continental spread, moderately nitrogen-rich sites and displaying a Verbandscharakterart requiring heat safflower companies ( Onopordion acanthii ).
Use
Because of the mucilage and saponins which flowers are used medicinally for coughs as an eject -promoting and irritable milderndes means, moreover in folk medicine for rheumatism.
The Large-flowered mullein is used as an ornamental plant in gardens. It is one of the so-called free surface perennials that need as opposed to the forest shrubs and perennials in orchards edge locations that are far from schattendem wood.
More Photos
Existence of the large-flowered mullein in national park Pirin
Large-flowered mullein on the Middle Rhine