I dug it up in sandy soil near Portland, Oregon about 4 months ago. It was just 4 or 5 leaves about 2 inches high. Touching the leaves does indeed give you a nasty skin irritation that lasts about a day. Thanks in advance...
Agree with Verbascum thapsus (Great Mullein). You are unlucky to be allergic to it, most people don't have any problem handling it.
Thanks both of you. I looked it up, wouldn't you know I picked an invasive species for a house plant. It really surprised me when it sprouted up, I just dug it out of a sandy riverbank amidst hundreds of other identical ones, but I read it was a biannual that doesn't shoot up until its second year. The thorny stalks next to it are blackberry (another real pest here in Oregon) but they thrived for a few months and then died, don't know why.