Teasel, The Teasing Thing!

photo by ana traina

Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum ssp. Sylvestris) 

Teasel is also known as Wild or Common Teasel. Wild Teasel was formerly considered Dipsacus sylvestris. The official vernacular name 'Fuller's Teasel' is best reserved for the cultivated variety. 

Plant Type: This is a nonnative herbaceous plant, it is a biennial which can reach 183cm in height (72inches). The stem is covered with spines

Leaves: The leaf arrangement is opposite. Each leaf is toothed.

Flowers: The flowers have 4 Regular Parts. They are lavender sometimes white. Blooms first appear in early summer and continue into mid fall. The tiny flowers are on an egg shaped head.

Habitat: Fields, fencerows and waste places.

At the Shaker Museum I happened on an enchantingly curious looking plant, called Teasel. The Teasel flowers open in a strange and unusual pattern. A band of flowers opens first around the middle of the head then the blooms progress both up and down and eventually form two bands. 

Here is a bit of Lore: Teasel was secretly brought to this continent in the early to mid nineteenth century from Europe were it was a guarded crop. The first crops in the U. S. were in upper New York. Later farms were also established in Oregon by a member of the same family that cultivated Teasel in N. Y.

At that time the heads were then used extensively to tease or bring up the nap on woolen fabrics, a process known as "fulling" or "brushing." A woolen blanket that has been brushed is said to be "warm." This brushing of the nap produces air pockets that provide added insulation and a softer surface that is also more resistant to spills and stains. In addition it softens the colors for a pleasing visual effect. By 1956 commercial steel carding cloth had largely replaced Teasel and it was no longer grown commercially in this country. The superior effect produced by Teasel is still valued and used on a small scale for such fine woolen fabrics as cashmere and hand woven items. 

a shy sheep by ana traina

And some odd Medical Uses: In some Teasels the upper leaves join around the stem forming a cup. The rainwater that collected there was once considered an eyewash and a cosmetic for the face thought to clear the skin. A common name for this Teasel is Venus' Basin. The Greeks thought the root a cleanser that could remove warts. A root tea was once used as a diuretic and to stimulate appetite.  But there is no real scientific evidence to support any medical use.