Moth Mullein, Verbascum Blattaria

Day 301: "What in the dickens was THAT?" I said as I went past in the car. I'd never seen it before, that was for sure! I parked at my customary birdwatching base and walked back before even checking for Warblers. Whatever it was, it was growing solely in a 15'-diameter circular area and nowhere else. Since fill dirt had been dumped there only a year ago, I suspected it of being a not-necessarily-desirable "import." When I got home last night, I went through the field guides and came up with nothing, so contacted Mark Turner, the author of "Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest" (an acquaintance) and asked him for help. He wrote back advising me to check the "yellow" section of his book where the more common color of Moth Mullein appears, and told me that he'd never seen the white variation. Since I was going back to Ohop Valley on Warbler Watch today, I decided to take another picture since I was now relieved of having to call it a "mystery plant."

Verbascum blattaria is a non-native species, but is not classified as an invasive. It normally occurs in yellow, but may variously appear in white or pink as well. The flower stalks rise to three feet or more, covered in the upper third by flowers spaced like those of a hollyhock or mallow. It is a tough plant which grows in poor soil. In this case, it was probably introduced into the area when seeds were transported in fill dirt. Whether it survives will be determined by the presence of predatory insects which may or may not consume it. Oftentimes, introduced species never get a toehold, thanks to hungry bugs.