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.
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.
