Common name:
Wild teasel
Family:
Scientific name:
Dipsacus fullonum
Main flower color:
Range:
England, Wales, southern Scotland and parts of Ireland
Height:
Up to 2 m
Habitat:
Damp grassland, disturbed ground
Flowers:
The inflorescence is an egg-shaped cluster of numerous tiny, pink, tubular flowers, each subtended by a narrow, linear, spiny bract, slightly longer than the corolla. At the base are several wider, spine-edged bracts, up to 9 cm long, curving upwards. Flowers mature in stages, and at any one time only a relatively narrow band around the cluster is in bloom. Stems are lined with thick white bristles
Leaves:
Basal leaves, produced in the first (non-flowering) year are obovate, with a strongly veined surface and a covering of prickles, while stem leaves, appearing in the second (flowering) year, are opposite, narrowly lanceolate, sparsely prickly underneath, coarsely-toothed and fused at the base
Season:
July to August
Rarity:
★★★★★
