Teasel

Dipsacus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Dipsacaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel or teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants (rarely short-lived perennial plants) growing to 1-2.5 m tall, native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa.

The genus name is derived from the word for thirst and refers to the cup-like formation made where sessile leaves merge at the stem. Rain water can collect in this receptacle; this may perform the function of preventing sap-sucking insects such as aphids from climbing the stem. A recent experiment (Shaw & Shackeleton 2011) has shown that adding dead insects to these cups increases the seedset of teasels (but not their height), implying partial carnivory - this work needs replicating.[1] The leaf shape is lanceolate, 20–40 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, with a row of small spines on the underside of the midrib