Dipsacus fullonum

Wild teasel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Dipsacus
Species:
D. fullonum
Binomial name
Dipsacus fullonum
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Dipsacus arcimusci Lojac.
    • Dipsacus botterii Maly ex Nyman
    • Dipsacus carminatorius Salisb.
    • Dipsacus connatofolius Gilib. nom. inval.
    • Dipsacus divaricatus C.Presl
    • Dipsacus horridus Opiz
    • Dipsacus meyeri Chabert
    • Dipsacus mirabilis Gand.
    • Dipsacus morisonii Boreau
    • Dipsacus orsini Sanguin.
    • Dipsacus palustris Salisb.
    • Dipsacus purpurascens Gand.
    • Dipsacus silvester A.Kern.
    • Dipsacus sinuatus Schltdl. ex Roem. & Schult.
    • Dipsacus sylvestris Huds.
    • Dipsacus vulgaris C.C.Gmel.
Flowers and head, Ottawa, Ontario

Dipsacus fullonum, syn. Dipsacus sylvestris, is a species of flowering plant known by the common names wild teasel or fuller's teasel, although the latter name is usually applied to the cultivated variety D. fullonum var. sativus.[2] It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is known in the Americas, southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand as an introduced species.

It is a herbaceous biennial plant (rarely a short-lived perennial plant) growing to 1–2.5 metres (3.3–8.2 ft) tall. The inflorescence is a cylindrical array of lavender flowers which dries to a cone of spine-tipped hard bracts. It may be 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. The dried inflorescence of a cultivar was historically used in textile manufacturing as a tool for fulling.

  1. ^ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.