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Common teasel / Llysiau'r cribau / Dipsacus fullonum
Flowers July - September
| These plants can grow up to six feet high, as indeed did this specimen in Parc Bryn Bach in Blaenau Gwent. They are usually found only in South Wales and Southern England and even then, are common only in certain localities. The dead flower heads remain all through the winter and used to be used to card (tease out) wool, in order to align the fibres for spinning. They are covered with hooked spines, which made them ideal for the purpose. In fact the the Welsh name means 'herb of the (wool) combs'. The hundreds of tiny flowers rarely cover the whole flower head at once - just part of it at a time, as here. |
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