Stats

Lifespan: Biennial
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Eurasia and North Africa
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Common

About

Wild teasel produces a tall, spiny flower head ringed with tiny purple blooms that open in a travelling band — progressing both upward and downward simultaneously from the middle. The dried seed heads were used for centuries to raise the nap on woven wool, giving the word 'teasel' to the textile trade.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Dipsacus
Species: Dipsacus fullonum