I think I mentioned my morning therapeutic walks (about a mile in length) that I’m doing several times a week, following my recent surgery. Along the way, I found this open meadow with a lot of different species of wildflowers growing. After one of my recent walks, I grabbed my camera/macro lens/tripod and headed back to the meadow. This Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant (a non-native wildflower) was just beginning to bloom:
As I moved in close, I could see a lot of early morning dewdrops on the plant’s fuzzy leaves:
Mullein is also called the “Flannel plant” and grows quite tall, up to about 7-feet. The entire plant is quite “flannely”, covered by dense, greenish-gray hairs. This is a biennial plant; during the first year, only the hairy leaves are seen. During the second year, the flower stalk emerges. This plant can be seen statewide, growing seemingly everywhere! A native of Europe, Mullein was a very early immigrant. Early uses of this plant are interesting. Native Americans and early settlers used an extract of this plant for respiratory problems. The settlers also found that the soft leaves made good diapers. It’s also been told that Native Americans smoked the leaves.
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 180mm, f/3.5 macro lens
- Bogen 3221 tripod + Studioball ballhead
- ISO 500
- Aperture f/16 (top photo) and f/22 (bottom photo)
- Shutter 1/320 sec. (top photo) and 1/100 sec. (bottom photo)