Dipsacus fullonum
(Teasel)
Family - Caprifoliaceae
Category - Biennial
Origin - North Africa, Southwest Asia, Europe
Season of Interest - Summer
Hardiness - H7
Height - up to 2m
Location - The Terrace, The Topiary Meadow
Description: Upright Biennial with prickly stems and leaves. Plants produce basal rosettes of oblong to lanceolate leaves in their first year and tall flowering stems during their second year. Flowerheads are produced from mid to late summer and are surrounded by a collar of long, thin, pointed Bracts. The inflorescence is composed of many, individual lilac-blue flowers, each surrounded at the base by a silvery-green Bract that forms a sharp point. The flowerheads age to tAwny-brown and maintain their shape through the winter, proving useful for cut flowers, also the seeds are a source of food for birds.
The Greek word dipsa means 'thirst' which is in reference to the water-retaining cup formed by the oppositely arranged leaves clasping the stem.
Historically the flowerheads have been used for 'raising the nap', a process that makes the material fuzzy, used in wool factories.
Synonym - Dipsacus sylvestris
Flower:
Many small, lilac-blue flowers make up a larger flowerhead. The individual flowers are surrounded by silvery-grey bracts that form sharp points, giving the inflorescence a bristly appearance after the flowers have dropped. The lilac-blue flowers first open in a ring around the centre of the flowerhead and then simultaneously in bands towards the tip and the base of the inflorescence. The flowerheads have involucres consisting of long, sharp, pointed bracts.
Flower colour: Lilac-blue
Flower shape: 4-lobed flowers
Flowering time: July, August
Foliage:
Basal rosettes of mid-green oblong to lanceolate leaves with spines on the midribs are produced in the first year. An upright, prickly stem with lanceolate leaves held in opposite pairs is produced from the basal rosette in the second year.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Oblong to lanceolate
Propagation:
Seed.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil.