Verbascum

verbascum

(vɜːˈbæskəm) n (Plants) See mullein[Latin: mullein]

Thesaurus

Noun

Verbascum - genus of coarse herbs and subshrubs mostly with woolly leavesgenus Verbascumasterid dicot genus - genus of more or less advanced dicotyledonous herbs and some trees and shrubsfamily Scrophulariaceae, figwort family, foxglove family, Scrophulariaceae - a family of dicotyledonous plants of the order Polemoniales; includes figwort and snapdragon and foxglove and toadflax and speedwell and mullein; in some classifications placed in the order Scrophularialesflannel leaf, mullein, velvet plant - any of various plants of the genus Verbascum having large usually woolly leaves and terminal spikes of yellow or white or purplish flowers

Verbascum

(mullein), a genus of plants of the Scro-phulariaceae (figwort) family. They are biennial or, occasionally, perennial, usually tall herbs and, at times, subshrubs, with alternate leaves (the lower ones growing in a rosette). The flowers are almost regular or only slightly irregular, usually yellow, and are borne in racemose, spicate, or panicled inflorescences. The perianth is pentamerous, and the corolla, spreading. There are four or five stamens with hairs on the filaments. The fruit is a capsule.

There are about 300 species in temperate zones of Eurasia, North Africa, and North America, into which they have been introduced. In the USSR there are more than 45 species, chiefly in the Caucasus, growing on rocky slopes, steppes, dry meadows, sandy areas, edges of forests, and along roads. The best known are great or common mullein (V. thapsus), V. phlomoides, and V. speciosum. A tincture of Verbascum corollas, which contain mucilage and saponins, is used as an astringent, emollient, and expectorant. Some species, such as V. phoeniceum and V. olym-picum, are grown as ornamentals. Species with four stamens are sometimes classified in a separate genus called Celsia.

REFERENCES

Fedchenko, B. A. “Rod Koroviak-Verbascum L.” In Flora SSSR, vol. 22. Moscow-Leningrad, 1955.
Atlas lekarstvennykh rastenii SSSR. Moscow, 1962.

T. V. EGOROVA

Verbascum

verbascum

Verbascum

Verbascum

REFERENCES

Verbascum

Synonyms for Verbascum

noun genus of coarse herbs and subshrubs mostly with woolly leaves

Synonyms

Related Words