Mullein is biennial, it lives for two years. The first year, this plant grows a rosette, but no flower stalk. The flower stalk grows the second year. At the end of the second year, the plant dies. In the first season of the plant's growth, there appears only a rosette of bluish-green, large, soft, furry leaves, 6 to 15 inches long. In the second year, a velvety flowering stalk grows to 10 feet in height. It has pretty yellow flowers, but they are short-lived and only a few bloom at a time from June to September. Mullein provides shelter for insects in the winter. Mullein produces huge numbers of seeds and its seeds last a very long time in the soil. An established population of common mullein can be extremely difficult to eradicate. This common plant was one of the first, if not the first, introduced plants from Europe to North America. A folk name for mullein “Candlewick plant” refers to the old practice of using the dried down of mullein leaves and stems to make lamp wicks. Some say mullein stems once were dipped in tallow to make torches either used by witches or used to repel them, hence the name “hag taper.” The custom of using mullein for torches dates back at least to Roman times. The leaves and flowers are the parts used medicinally.