From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Torchwort \Torch"wort`\, n. (Bot.)
The common mullein, the stalks of which, dipped in suet,
anciently served for torches. Called also torch, and
hig-taper.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Hig-taper \Hig"-ta`per\, n. [Cf. Hag-taper.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Verbascum (Verbascum Thapsus); the common mullein. [Also high-taper and hag-taper.] Hijera