∼
flannel leaves
a casual shrub
becomes
a towering stalk
bursting buds
thrusting
upwards
like a spear
leaving
delicacy
far below.
∼
∼
∼
I finally identified this wild plant as Mullein, not from thumbing through a field guide, but with one quick internet search for a plant that ‘looks like corn’. Its visual profile resembles corn, but with velvety leaves and a flower spike, it’s not like corn at all and is a member of the Snapdragon family.
Some people love these plants and grow them in flower gardens. There are many varieties. For herbalists, Mullein are known as a source of traditional remedies. For me, the young plants, even younger than shown in my first photo, are quite attractive. As they mature location becomes a factor. They are so huge that sometimes a towering stalk can feel like an obstruction–in the fall the stalks become hard wooden sticks.
Mullein is also known as: Velvet plant, Verbascum Flowers, Woolen Blanket Herb, Bullock’s Lungwort, Flannel Flower, Shepherd’s Club, Hare’s Beard, Pig Taper, and Cow’s Lungwort.
A thank you to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Narrow, which gave me a nudge to gather photos, identify, and write about these plants.
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Ontheland 
Excellent photos and always, exceptional poetic proses. 🌸
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Thank you 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post.
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Great poem and more sharing of your garden with wonderful images Janice
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Thank you Denis 🙂
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Hi Janice, we have this amazing plant growing in our garden too. We never know where it’s going to turn up, sometimes in a most inconvenient place, but it’s precious so we leave them in peace. You have quite a bunch of them. Lovely light in your photos. Your poem describes them perfectly.
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I’m happy to hear about your Mullein. I believe it is a native of Europe. I find it fascinating to discover plants that I have only known as names in herb books.
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I love these plants. Thanks for writing a poem about them 🙂
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My pleasure 🙂 the gremlins are at it again…they dropped your note into spam but I rescued it.
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WordPress has a few ‘issues’ 🙂
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Indeed it does!
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My mom used to say that the Romans used these as torches. I am not sure if this is true, but the idea set me toward a lifetime of thinking about the uses of plants.
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They certainly would make excellent torches. In the fall they become brown hard rods.
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I like the last photo best! Looks like it could be the cover of a mystery novel.
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I like that one too 🙂 the evening clouds are a major feature.
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