Ivydene Gardens Figwort Mulleins to Fumitory Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Figwort - Mulleins Family

Click on Underlined Text in:-

Common Name to view that Plant Description Page
Botanical Name to link to Plant or Seed Supplier
Flowering Months to view photos
Habitat to view further Natural Habitat details and Botanical Society of the British Isles Distribution Map

Figwort Family:-

Mulleins

"Our Mulleins are all biennials, with leaves in a rosette and alternate up the little- or unbranched stem. Flowers usually yellow, rather large, in spikes; corolla flat with a short tube and 5 petal-like lobes; calyx 5-lobed; stamens 5. Fruits globular or egg-shaped. All the species may hybridise, and several garden species may escape" from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978.

Figwort Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Balm-leaved Figwort

Scrophularia scorodonia

June-August

A long-lived perennial herb of hedge banks, scrubby field-borders, rough ground on cliff-tops, waste places, disused quarries and old walls. Lowland.

Blood-drop Emlets

Mimulus luteus

June-September

A creeping mat-forming perennial herb naturalised in damp or wet places such as marshes and flushes, and on riversides and river shingle. It reproduces by seed and vegetatively from stem fragments. Generally lowland, but upper altitudinal limit unknown.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Figwort

Scrophularia nodosa

June-August

A perennial herb of open or shaded habitats, preferring fertile soils and found in damp woodland, woodland rides, hedge banks, ditches and riversides, and sometimes in drier sites on waste ground. Generally lowland, but reaching 480 m at Angle Tarn, Patterdale (Westmorland).

Flower

Flowers from Folkestone in Kent

Foliage from Folkestone

Form

Common Mudwort

Limosella aquatica

June onwards

An annual of the muddy edges of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, pools, ditches, rutted tracks and roadsides. In the Burren (Co. Clare) it also occurs in limestone solution hollows. It may prefer mildly acidic, nutrient enriched soils. Plants reproduce by seed and also spread by stolons. 0-455 m (Malham Moor, Mid-W. Yorks.).

Common Mullein

(Great Mullein)

Verbascum thapsus

June-August

A biennial herb of open scrub and hedge banks, waysides, railway banks and sidings, rough grassy places, waste ground and quarries. It prefers well-drained soils, especially those over a sand, gravel or chalk substrate. It produces copious long-lived seed and may become an abundant colonist. It is a frequent garden escape, becoming established on rubbish tips when thrown out. 0-370 m (White Scars, Ingleborough, Mid-W. Yorks.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from Kent on 20 August

Form from Kent on 20 August

Common Snapdragon

Antirrhinum majus

July-September

An annual or short-lived perennial herb, widely naturalised on old walls, waysides, pavement cracks, waste ground and rubbish tips. Populations can be long-lived, and the species reproduces readily from seed. Lowland.

Common Toadflax

Linaria vulgaris

July onwards

This perennial herb is found in open grassy places, on stony and waste ground, hedge banks, road verges, railway embankments and cultivated land, especially on calcareous soils. It reproduces by seed and also spreads by creeping rhizomes. 0-360 m near Alston (Cumberland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from Rochester

Form from Rochester in Kent

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Cornish Moneywort

(Small Penny-pies, Pennywort)

Sibthorpia europaea

June onwards

A procumbent perennial herb of acidic soils in damp, shady places, including woodland, banks by small streams and ditches (often creeping over a carpet of mosses), on wet heathland, on thin soil over granite walls or other masonry, on shaded paths and lawns, and occasionally in other damp habitats. 0-515 m (Connor Hill, S. Kerry). Cornish Moneywort Species Action Plan

Dark Mullein

Verbascum nigrum

June onwards

This biennial or short-lived perennial herb is found on road verges and embankments, in hedge banks and other grassy places, on walls and in cultivated ground, including arable field margins. It prefers well-drained calcareous soils. 0-335 m (Brassington, Derbys.).

Flower from Somerset on 8 July

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Somerset on 8 July

Fairy Foxglove

Erinus alpinus

May-August

This short-lived, semi-evergreen perennial herb occurs in the crevices of old walls and in other stony places, often on limestone or bricks with lime mortar. It seeds freely and thrives in full sun. Generally lowland, but reaching 350 m at Alston (Cumberland).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea

June-September

A biennial or short-lived perennial, common on acidic soils in hedge banks, open woods and woodland clearings, on heath and moorland margins, river banks, montane rocky slopes, sea-cliffs, walls and waste land. It is often found in great abundance in disturbed or burnt areas, such as recently felled forestry plantations. 0-880 m (Mt Brandon, S. Kerry).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from County Clare

Form from Lochinver in Sutherland on 20 June

Form in Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Form in Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Juvenile Foliage in Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers in Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

French Toadflax

(Sand Toadflax)

Linaria arenaria

(Linaria saxatilis, Linaria minuscula, Antirrhinum saxatile)

May-September

Dunes (sown on dunes at Braunton Burrows about 1890, now well established)

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Hoary Mullein

Verbascum pulverulentum

July-August

This monocarpic perennial is found on roadside verges and railway banks, in old quarries and gravel-pits, in hedge banks, rough ground, and locally on coastal shingle (its only `natural` habitat). Outside its core area it is usually a casual of waste ground. Seed remains viable for many years and new populations can appear after soil disturbance. Lowland.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax

Cymbalaria muralis

April onwards

This perennial herb is well-established on old walls and bridges, pavements, and in other well-drained rocky and stony places, often near habitation. It is also found as large, prostrate patches on shingle beaches. It can root from fragments or from nodes, and its seeds germinate readily in brick and stone mortar. 0-450 m (Garrigill, Cumberland).

Flower from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Foliage from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Jersey Toadflax

(Pellissers Toadflax)

Linaria pelisseriana

May-July

An annual of hedge banks, rough ground and rocky places. Lowland.

Large-flowered Mullein

(Twiggy Mullein)

Verbascum virgatum

June onwards

A biennial herb, naturalised on dry banks, walls, field margins, rough grassland, pastures and sheltered sea-cliffs in S.W. England; elsewhere a casual of waste ground, rubbish tips, re-seeded road verges, sand-pits, tracks and disturbed coastal dunes. It reproduces by seed, easily colonising open habitats, but does not survive much competition. Lowland.

Flower from Tenterden in Kent on 8 August

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Tenterden on 8 August (Vertical plant to left of centre with yellow flower on top)

Lesser Snapdragon

Misopates orontium

July onwards

A spring-germinating annual of light soils, found in arable and other cultivated ground including among horticultural crops, and in gardens and waste places. It reproduces by seed, but cold, wet summers inhibit its germination and growth. Lowland.

Flower from Rochester

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Rochester in Kent

Monkey Flower

Mimulus guttatus

June-September

This vigorous perennial herb is found in wet places by streams, rivers and ponds, in damp meadows, marshy ground and open woodland. It spreads both by seed and vegetatively, rooting from the nodes in wet mud or gravel. Generally lowland, but upper altitudinal limit unknown.

Flower from Stoer in Sutherland on 2 August

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Moth Mullein

Verbascum blattaria

June onwards

A biennial, occasionally annual, herb of waste ground, rough grassland, field-borders and waysides; also in old quarries and gravel-pits. Occurrences are generally casual, but some populations appear to be persistent. Lowland.

Flower from Tenterden in Kent on 23 July

Flowers from Tenterden on 23 July

Foliage from Tenterden on 23 July

Form from Tenterden on 23 July

Musk

Mimulus moschatus

June-September

A decumbent perennial herb, casual or naturalised in damp, often shaded places, including the muddy edges of ditches, wooded swamps, damp woodland rides, by ponds and in damp pasture. Seed has considerable longevity in the soil. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Orange Mullein

Verbascum phlomoides

June-August

This biennial herb occurs in hedge banks, by waysides, on open rough ground and rubbish tips, generally on sandy or stony soils. It is sometimes naturalised in C. and S. Britain, but occurrences are usually casual. Seed is freely produced. Lowland.

Pale Toadflax

Linaria repens

June-September

This rhizomatous perennial herb is found on rough and waste ground, stony and cultivated land, grassy banks and along railway tracks, usually on dry, calcareous or base-rich soils.

Flower from Chiltern Hills

Flowers from Chiltern Hills

Foliage

Form

Prostrate Toadflax

Linaria supina

June-September

An annual found on sandy sea shores, waste places and walls near the sea, and on roadside embankments and beside railways. It is naturalised in some parts of S.W. Britain, but only occurs as a rare casual elsewhere. Lowland.

Purple Toadflax

Linaria purpurea

June onwards

A perennial herb, occurring as a garden escape or outcast on waste ground, roadsides and banks, along railways, on pavements, walls and rubbish tips, and in quarries. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers on 3 August

Foliage from East Kent on 11 July

Form

Round-leaved Fluellen

Kickxia spuria

July onwards

An annual of arable land and open waste ground, usually on calcareous soils, in similar habitats to K. elatine and often growing with it. Lowland.

Flower from Hothfield in Kent on 15 September

Flowers from Corn Field on 23 July

Foliage from Corn Field on 23 July

Form from Corn Field in Kent on 23 July

Sharp-leaved Fluellen

Kichxia elatine

July onwards

An annual of basic soils, including light soils over chalk and calcareous boulder-clay, found on the headlands and margins of arable fields (particularly cornfields), and less commonly on tracks, waste ground and in gardens. It is also found on sandy soils, and has been recorded on open peaty ground (Co. Cork). Lowland.

Flower

Flowers with stem

Foliage

Form

Small Toadflax

Chaenorhinum minus

May onwards

A spring-germinating annual of open habitats on well-drained, often calcareous, soils, including cultivated fields, forestry tracks, on rough waste ground, old walls, quarries, and especially along railways. 0-425 m (Kirkstone Pass, Westmorland).

Flower

Flower with Stem

Foliage

Form

Trailing Snapdragon

(Climbing Snapdragon)

Asarina procumbens

(Antirrhinum asarina)

June onwards

Cliffs and Walls - absent from Scotland and Ireland, dotted over England and 3 sites in Wales. Garden origin from Southern France and North-East Spain. Native to the Pyrenees mountains where it grows shaded among the rocks.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form (Ignore the changed colour in this 35 mm slide, use the leaf and stem shape for identification)

Water Figwort

Scrophularia aquatica (Scrophularia auriculata)

June-September

A perennial herb of wet places on the margins of lakes, rivers, streams and canals, and in ditches, marshes and wet woodlands. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form from Buckinghamshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Welsh Mudwort

(Delta mudwort)

Limosella subulata

(Limosella australis)

May onwards

An annual to short-lived perennial of mudflats and saltmarsh pools, occurring as scattered plants or in dense swards. Reproduction by seed occurs, but plants spread mostly by stolons. Lowland.

Western Figwort

(Green Figwort)

Scrophularia umbrosa

June-September

A rhizomatous perennial herb which grows on fertile soils by streams and rivers, and in damp woodland, in both open and shaded places. Generally lowland.

Fruits from Stratford in London. Photo by BritishFlora

White Mullein

Verbascum lychnitis

July-August

A biennial, or occasionally short-lived perennial, herb of dry, usually calcareous soil, occurring in rough pastures, recently cleared woodland, on railway embankments, tracksides and road verges and in quarries and waste places. Seed is copiously produced, and remains viable for many years. It freely hybridises with other Verbascum species. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Yellow Figwort

Scrophularia vernalis

April-June

A biennial, sometimes perennial, herb found in woodland clearings, plantations, hedge banks and rough waste ground, usually in shade. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

CHECK-LIST OF TYPES OF CORNISH HEDGE FLORA by Sarah Carter of Cornish Hedges Library:-

"This check-list is a simple guide to the herbaceous plants typically indicating different habitat types found in the Cornish hedge. The short lists are of typical plants, not complete species lists for the habitat. Many of the plants in the Typical Hedge list also appear in the other types of hedge. Areas of intermediate population where location or physical conditions begin to change and habitats overlap are not included.

THE GUILD OF CORNISH HEDGERS is the non-profit-making organisation founded in 2002 to support the concern among traditional hedgers about poor standards of workmanship in Cornish hedging today. The Guild has raised public awareness of Cornwall's unique heritage of hedges and promoted free access to the Cornish Hedges Library, the only existing source of full and reliable written knowledge on Cornish hedges."