wild teasel
Latin name: Dipsacus fullonum
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Other common names; grey text
Flowering time: July to August
Height: to 2.5m
Growing conditions: disturbed ground
Nectar source for: bees when in flower
Food source for: birds when seeding
Description
A large biennial, the teasel is probably best-known for its brown, prickly stems and conical seed heads, which persist long after the plants themselves have died back for the winter.
How to identify: The teasel is a tall plant, often reaching the height of a person. They have thorns all the way up their stems and a cone-like flower head that gives the plant the impression of an oversized cottonbud. The flowers are tiny and purple, clustering together and appearing in rings up and down the flower head; the familiar seed heads turn brown in winter.
How to propagate: Grow easily from seed.
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Other common names; grey text
Flowering time: July to August
Height: to 2.5m
Growing conditions: disturbed ground
Nectar source for: bees when in flower
Food source for: birds when seeding
Description
A large biennial, the teasel is probably best-known for its brown, prickly stems and conical seed heads, which persist long after the plants themselves have died back for the winter.
How to identify: The teasel is a tall plant, often reaching the height of a person. They have thorns all the way up their stems and a cone-like flower head that gives the plant the impression of an oversized cottonbud. The flowers are tiny and purple, clustering together and appearing in rings up and down the flower head; the familiar seed heads turn brown in winter.
How to propagate: Grow easily from seed.