What is "moth mullein"

Moth \Moth\, n.; pl. Moths (m[o^]thz). [OE. mothe, AS. mo[eth][eth]e; akin to D. mot, G. motte, Icel. motti, and prob. to E. mad an earthworm. Cf. Mad, n., Mawk.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any nocturnal lepidopterous insect, or any not included among the butterflies; as, the luna moth; Io moth; hawk moth.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Any lepidopterous insect that feeds upon garments, grain, etc.; as, the clothes moth; grain moth; bee moth. See these terms under Clothes, Grain, etc.

3. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc., esp. the larv[ae] of several species of beetles of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. Carpet moths are often the larv[ae] of Anthrenus. See Carpet beetle, under Carpet, Dermestes, Anthrenus.

4. Anything which gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.

   Moth blight (Zo["o]l.), any plant louse of the genus Aleurodes, and related genera. They are injurious to various plants.

   Moth gnat (Zo["o]l.), a dipterous insect of the genus Bychoda, having fringed wings.

   Moth hunter (Zo["o]l.), the goatsucker.

   Moth miller (Zo["o]l.), a clothes moth. See Miller, 3, (a) .

   Moth mullein (Bot.), a common herb of the genus Verbascum ( Verbascum Blattaria), having large wheel-shaped yellow or whitish flowers.

Mullein \Mul"lein\, n. [OE. moleyn, AS. molegn.] (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Verbascum. They are tall herbs having coarse leaves, and large flowers in dense spikes. The common species, with densely woolly leaves, is Verbascum Thapsus.

Moth mullein. See under Moth.

Mullein foxglove, an American herb ( Seymeria macrophylla) with coarse leaves and yellow tubular flowers with a spreading border.

Petty mullein, the cowslip.
--Dr. Prior.

n. European mullein with smooth leaves and large yellow or purplish flowers; naturalized as a weed in North America [syn: Verbascum blattaria]