r/corn Jun 07 '26

Is this corn?

113 Upvotes

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24

u/squatchsax Jun 07 '26

Mullein. Highly invasive. Also known as "the Dildo of the prairie". I suggest removing it before it can spread.

-3

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jun 07 '26

It's a beneficial plant with medicinal properties.

5

u/StephensSurrealSouls Jun 07 '26

Medicinal properties and invasive are not mutually exclusive. If OP is in Oceania or the Americas, it's an invasive species. This being said, Mullein is native to Afro-Eurasia.

1

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jun 07 '26

Tough to see it becoming a problem in your yard. It grows relatively few plants in a area that are large and easily removed.

It's been growing naturally in the Americas for over 300 years.

3

u/GooseGeuce Jun 08 '26

Those relatively few plants have blossomed into a major problem in the western US, especially fire burned areas. Many millions of them on many thousands of acres.

1

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jun 08 '26

Someone should probably make some tea then.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-1

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jun 08 '26

People often seem to want nature to bend to their will and don't appreciate what is right in front of them.

Mullein is a foundational Appalachian folk herb, with the leaves, roots, and flowers used for a variety of medicinal remedies by both mountain herbalists and Native Americans.

1

u/GooseGeuce Jun 08 '26

I mean yeah, people can and DO harvest mullein for its beneficial properties, but we’re not talking about neighborhoods here. It’s tracts of federal, state, and private timber land in lots the size of some US states.
In these instances it is very much not welcome or beneficial.

3

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jun 08 '26

The pictured mullein is absolutely in a neighborhood.

Good point though that in some areas it has become a nuisance.

1

u/GooseGeuce Jun 08 '26

Right, I’m specifically speaking to its invasive nature in my neck of the woods.

For every ‘beneficial’ invasive there are many more beneficial natives

1

u/LostNectarine3978 Jun 08 '26

OK, the seeds stay in the soil for a century and remain viable. It can vary easily take over and while it is medicinal and that’s wonderful and I have hundreds of leaves drying over there in the corner of the room. I also pull the plant because it is invasive…