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WC #611 - Wooly Mullein
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WC #611 - Wooly Mullein

by Jim Greenwood

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted November 17, 201358 views5 comments
This photograph was taken in Zion Canyon just a couple of weeks ago. It is the Verbascum thapsus, commonly known as wooly mullein. It is an invasive species in Zion (as it is I believe throughout the US). It is a biennial. The first year is the rosette stage, as in this image, which can be up to two feet in diameter, with leaves which are covered with a thick velvet. The second year it produces a flowering stalk up to ten feet tall, with small yellow flowers, and tens of thousands of seeds (perhaps over 100,000) which can survive and be viable in the soil for as long as 100 years, and then dies.

Canon 5D II
Canon 180mm f/3.5L Macro
180mm, f/32, 0.8 seconds, ISO 50

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on November 18, 2013 at 11:22 AM
Excellent detail/DOF, your LP looks great Jim.
Informative note on this species, no nits from me..
Well done! :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on November 18, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Love all the curly lines and texture in this shot, Jim! Your small aperture made for great details throughout the image. I like how the color and shapes change from the middle as they spread outward. We have these growing wild in our area also so I found your information quite interesting. Wow, viable in the soil for 100 years! Guess we'll have these plants around for a long time. :smile:
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by Barbara Graham on November 18, 2013 at 9:05 PM
I like your composition and all the curves and lines, as well as the very interesting texture. I also like the information you provided.
Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on November 20, 2013 at 12:19 PM
This is a fine look into the center of a rosette that really shows off the symmetry. Yes, it's an invasive here in the East as well, often called Common Mullein. Folklore says that Quaker women (who weren't supposed to wear make-up) rubbed the leaves on their cheeks to get some extra glow.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Lockhart on November 20, 2013 at 5:20 PM
Ten foot flowers? That's what I'd call invasive too! Hope they stay in Zion. Your photo captures the essence of this plant Jim, and I could sense the velvety texture even before I read your description. The curled foliage made me think of a many-tendrilled monster; I can easily imagine the center opening up with another appendix ready to shoot out at unsuspecting prey. So, nice patterns in this shot, along with texture and pleasing, muted colors.
Registered on February 19, 2013, 91 Posts, 500 Comments