Any ideas on this pretty wild plant

[jokr]

I just noticed it popping up on our hillside. About 15 in one area.

Central Alabama. The area had pine trees but they were cut down last summer. Any ideas what it could be?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Google mullen plant

 

[Carol Dee]

Google mullen plant

I think so too

 

[jokr]

Thank you so much! You guys are awesome. I didn't know where to start.

 

[Zeedman]

Ditto on mullein. It volunteers every year in one of my gardens, and I always let a few grow. It does not appear to be excessively invasive, the leaves are soft & velvety, and the 3-4' tall flower stalk is interesting.

Now if that was lamb's ear - which looks similar, but spreads rapidly by underground roots - I would say kill it immediately. My son has that in a border next to his foundation, and it sends up shoots in his lawn 10 feet away.

 

[thistlebloom]

Now if that was lamb's ear - which looks similar, but spreads rapidly by underground roots - I would say kill it immediately. My son has that in a border next to his foundation, and it sends up shoots in his lawn 10 feet away.

That's weird behavior for Lambs Ear (Stachys byzantina). At least any that I have ever seen. I have it at home and have planted it for clients. I never let it bloom, maybe that's the difference?
The Helen Von Stein is a favorite for it's very large leaf and it seems to be more vigorous. But I would never guess it was invasive.

 

[flowerbug]

I think so too

meep three!

makes good butt wipe. goldfinches love it. millions of tiny seeds go everywhere. you'll see tall stalks with yellow flowers from it. around here they are common along the edges of the ditches where there is some bare spot of dirt left open.

some people use it for tonics to help with breathing and lung conditions, but i'm not sure how effective this really is.

 

[digitS']

Hmmm

I'm going with mullein but these are "northern" answers . Jokr said Alabama. A southern gardener ID needed ..?

I once knew a young lady from Hawaii. She saw a group of blooming mullein and thought that they looked absolutely hilarious! No mullein in the tropics? I still smile to remember how she went on about them .

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

Mullein grows in poor soil. You can see it in the north growing near highways where they scraped away much of the top soil. I encourage it on the untamed border of my property. It is a medicinal plant. I have given it to horses when they have summer breathing allergies. It is the kind of plant where you don't have to worry about giving them too much. They will not willingly eat it. I have blended it up and added it to grain. It grows into a tall, I think interesting plant. It gets around 4 feet tall in bloom.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Grows all over the Pacific side of the US in poor unwatered soil.