{"id":261,"date":"2024-08-05T16:44:29","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T23:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/?p=261"},"modified":"2025-05-01T11:50:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:50:05","slug":"teasel-dipsacus-sylvestris-or-d-fullonum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/2024\/08\/05\/teasel-dipsacus-sylvestris-or-d-fullonum\/","title":{"rendered":"Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris or D. fullonum)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWeed\u201d is one of those rare botanical terms without a precise meaning. Often, a weed is considered \u201ca plant growing out-of-place\u201d. Such a definition is broad enough to include both native and introduced species, as well as plants that are adapted to disturbed sites. A few weeds were originally imported for their economic use, but are no longer widely used by people and now relegated to roadsides and waste places. Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum<\/em> or D. sylvestris<\/em>) is one such plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   With its prickly stems and spiny flower heads, teasel might be mistaken for a thistle (Cirsium<\/em>), though it belongs to its own, small family, Dipsacaceae, rather than the ubiquitous sunflower family (Asteraceae). Each purple flower in the head is subtended by a long, stout, prickly bract. The entire flower head resembles a very angry pinecone, or a medieval mace-like weapon, and is quite adequate to deter large herbivores from feeding on flowers or seeds. Since ancient times, textile artisans have used the dried inflorescences of teasels in the process of teasing (disentangling animal fibers, like wool) and fulling (raising the nap of fabric to make it thicker, softer, and more conducive for dyeing). In the 19th century, heads of Fuller\u2019s teasel (the cultivated phase bred for its stouter, more curved bristles) were mounted in rows on revolving drums to gently tease cloth. Growing teasel for industrial use was a major industry in New York, Oregon, and other states. Today, commercial teasing and napping is done by wire or plastic hooks and the market for teasel has vanished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   Wild teasel (D. sylvestris<\/em>) was originally native to eastern Europe and southwestern Asia but is now found worldwide, including most of North America. It differs from the cultivated \u201cfullonum<\/em>\u201d form in having straighter bracts and ascending, arm-like involucre bracts below the flower heads. Taxonomists debate whether these forms are really distinct species, and which name is the proper one for the species as a whole. The nomenclature pendulum seems to be swinging towards using D. fullonum<\/em> for both species, as it is the older name (dating to Linnaeus).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   Teasel has opposite leaves that are fused into a shallow cup where they join at the stem and often contains rainwater and drowned bugs (the genus name translates as \u201cthirst\u201d in reference to the cup of fluid). For centuries, naturalists speculated that teasel might be a partially carnivorous plant, deriving some extra nutriment from decaying insects trapped in its leaf cup. Sadly, recent investigations have been unable to corroborate the carnivory hypothesis. \u2013 Walter Fertig, 5 August 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Teasel<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWeed\u201d is one of those rare botanical terms without a precise meaning. Often, a weed is considered \u201ca plant growing out-of-place\u201d. Such a definition is broad enough to include both native and introduced species, as well as plants that are adapted to disturbed sites. A few weeds were originally imported for their economic use, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions\/462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbs.wsu.edu\/ownbeyherbarium\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}