Verbascum speciosum

Showy mullein

Family: Scrophulariaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Showy mullein is a naturalized annual found in the Santa Cruz Mountains along roadsides at an elevation of 550 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces large yellow flowers 20 to 30 millimeters wide with white-hairy filaments. Growing with tall stems 100 to 150 centimeters high and densely covered in stellate hairs, it has a distinctive robust appearance. Its leaves are oblanceolate, petioled, reaching 30 to 40 centimeters long, and remain entire without running down the stem. The plant forms a branching panicle inflorescence with flower clusters of 5 to 9 blossoms per node, each supported by small ovate bracts.

Habitat: Roadsides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 550 m

Bioregions: SnFrB (Santa Cruz Mtns)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.