In botany and horticulture, the popular name given to various tall flowering plants :
Common mullein or great mullein (Verbascum thapsus), a biennal medicinal herb used in Amerindian medicine as a tonic for lung problems, such as cough, asthma or bronchitis; Snapdragon or Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae)(other common names: shepherd's club, woolly mullein, flanel mullein, hag taper).
Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea ); a common European plant with yellow flowers. It is used as an anti-inflammatory medicinal herb to treat mucus problems. The leaves give a yellow dye; Composite family (Asteraceae).
Bush pea or Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa ), a perennial plant from the Eastern USA with yellow flowers; it has some poisonous parts; Pea family (Fabaceae).
Historically, a name for the staff carried by the Aaron who succeeded Moses as High Priest in ancient Israel, and which was transformed into a serpent. C.f. Exodus ch 7.
Another rod, carried by Aaron, which budded. This is the rod which was kept in the Ark of the Covenant along with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments and a jar of manna (described in Numbers 17).
In architecture, the term is given to an ornamental rod with sprouting leaves, or sometimes with a serpent entwined round it (from the Biblical references in Exodus vii. 10 and Numbers xvii. 8).
D. H. Lawrence wrote a novel called Aaron's Rod about an amateur flautist who left his wife to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician.
