Wild Teasel

Wild Teasel  Dipsacus fullonum

Wild teasel is one of our easiest wild flowers to identify and a favourite for dry flower displays. It's tall, up to two metres, with strong, prickly stems and leaves. The flower heads are egg-shaped, 2-8 cm long with purple flowers which die off leaving a brown dead head which lasts throughout the winter. Basal leaves are in a large rosette, oblong unto other and prickly. The stem leaves are lanceolate and fused together around the stem forming a cup in which rain water collects.

The plant is widespread and locally frequent along river-sides, rough places and bushy areas.

Dipsacus is the Classical Greek name for the plant. As mentioned, rain water collects in the cup formed by the leaves. This gives rise to its generic name which is taken from the Greek 'dipsao', thirst. In the eighteenth century, this was collected and used as a face lotion.

Very similar to wild teasel is fuller's teasel; the bracts not ascending and overtopping the flower-heads. The name is taken from the Latin 'fullo', a fuller. The old tough flower- heads were used for 'teasing' cloth and the worker who did this was known as a fuller or burler. At one time fuller's teasel was cultivated inmany parts of the country around cloth manufacturing towns and villages.

Teasel is used in dry flower arrangement. They are often painted or sprayed with different colours for decoration.