Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Suddenly Seymour...


And now, for an update on previous posts, we turn to Leslie Langtry, who, just minutes before was standing next to this plant in her back yard!


By the way, my husband accidentally cut the top off the stalk in the photo - yes Virginia, it really is longer now.


Well, the mystery is solved. Having dinner last night with friends Faye and Kay, Faye told me what this plant is. May I have a drumroll please? Um, a drumroll? HELLO! Oh, whatever.


This is the Great Mullein plant! Ta-da! Aren't you impressed? Originally native to Europe and Asia, the Great Mullein was brought to the U.S. in the 1700's as a medicinal herb for humans, but can also paralyze fish and give rats Parkinson's. How much would you pay? $25? 50? But wait! There's more!


I guess it prefers sandy, loose soil, and full sun - which is weird because it is growing in full shade, between a couple of boulders in midwestern common dirt. Go figure.


It's a two year plant and now that I think of it, we thought it was a hosta last year. In the second year it can shoot up to 10 feet tall, releases it's flowers and dies. Cool huh? And get this, it can cause internal bleeding in humans if 20 pounds or so of the seeds are ingested.


That made me smile. At least it's somewhat fatal. How fitting it should grow in my yard.


I've decided to name it Seymour.
The Assassin

10 comments:

Terri Osburn said...

Why do I get the feeling some future Vic is going to die by ingesting these seeds?

catslady said...

I can't wait to see the flower lol.

Leslie Langtry said...

Hmmmm.....maybe it's a man-eating flower that spits acid seeds....

Les (who is spending way too much time daydreaming)

Anonymous said...

I'm with Terrio. *g*

Anonymous said...

"some future Vic is going to die by ingesting these seeds?"

I don't know. Force feeding "Vic" 20 pounds (or so) of seed doesn't sound very elegant. And why would he be a "Vic" anyway? Did he get on the wrong side of his neighborhood association by refusing to mow his lawn?

Terri Osburn said...

Maybe she could bake 20lbs worth into a cake. LOL!

RM Kahn said...

They grow wild here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I make a tonic with the leaves that helped my son get rid of a lingering winter cough.

Christie Craig said...

Hmmm...

I agree with Terrio. Somehow, someway this plant will end up in Leslie Langtry book.

Crime Scene Christie

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL Leslie! You look fabulous with your killer plant! :)

Hellie Sinclair said...

*LOL* I'm picturing a future vic (vegan, obviously) who ingests these seeds, thinking they are something benign. Like sunflower seeds. (I didn't say he was a smart vegan.)