Verbascums

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of flowering plants with pubescent leaves and tall spikes of flowers, commonly found in temperate regions
2. These plants typically exhibit a rosette form in their early growth and are known for their soft, hairy stems and bright yellow or white blooms
3. Often referred to as mullein, the species within this genus are valued for their medicinal properties and are used in traditional herbal remedies

Etymology: "Verbascums" is simply the plural of "verbascum", the genus name for the mulleins, a group of plants in the figwort family. The genus name was taken directly from Latin, where "verbascum" was the name for the mullein plant itself, and modern botanists adopted it as the scientific name for the group. In English, the plural form is used when referring to several different species of the genus at once.