Dipsacus fullonum - Wild Teasel seeds

Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum, syn. Dipsacus sylvestris) is a tall, biennial, nectar-rich plant ideal for a natural garden or a wildflower meadow. Grown from organic seeds, it forms a clump of robust stems reaching nearly two metres tall over two seasons, topped with large, prickly flower heads adorned with small mauve-pink flowers. These inflorescences are rich in nectar and pollen, attracting a host of insects, then providing a seed reserve in autumn and winter for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds.

Botanically, Wild Teasel belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family (formerly Dipsacaceae). Its currently accepted scientific name is Dipsacus fullonum, with Dipsacus sylvestris being a synonym still widely used in the literature. Official botanical synonyms include: Dipsacus fullonum subsp. sylvestris, Dipsacus arcimusci, Dipsacus botterii, Dipsacus carminatorius, Dipsacus connatofolius, etc. It is known by the common names Wild Teasel, Common Teasel, Bird's Nest, Our Lady's Bath, Venus's Basin, or Wolf's Comb. It is a biennial plant, or a short-lived perennial, native to temperate Europe as far as the Caucasus, North Africa, and western Asia, where it colonises fallow land, roadsides, embankments, and moist meadows.
In its first year, the teasel forms a rosette of large lanceolate, 20 to 40cm long, finely toothed leaves, very prickly on the dorsal vein. In its second year, one or more channelled, prickly flower stems rise to 1.50–2m from the ground. The leaves are opposite on the stems and fused at the base to form a cup that holds rainwater. The root system is dominated by a deep taproot, ensuring anchorage and drought resistance. The inflorescences are ovoid to cylindrical, 4 to 8cm long heads, surrounded by long, arched bracts that clearly extend beyond the flower head. The small tubular flowers, with a lilac-pink to mauve corolla, open in a median ring; flowering then progresses upwards and downwards, creating characteristic successive rings, from July to September. After flowering, the heads dry out and become rigid "thistles", filled with tiny quadrangular achenes about 5 mm long, which remain in place for a long time and are dispersed by wind, birds, and soil cultivation.
The above-ground vegetation dies back after seed production, but the dry stems persist, providing shelter for many insects.
Wild Teasel readily self-seeds around the parent plant if the heads are left to mature. In several regions of Europe, a related species, Fuller's Teasel (Dipsacus sativus), was once cultivated for carding wool: its heads were mounted on cylinders to raise the nap of cloth, a practice that has left abundant iconography. The Wild Teasel itself, being more flexible, was locally used to fill these tools.

Sow teasels in borders and wildflower meadows, or in a corner of the vegetable garden dedicated to biodiversity, alongside other thistles, or tall perennials such as Verbascum or hybrid mulleins. The bird's nest plant prefers ordinary to heavy soils, neutral to chalky, not too dry to moist, but also tolerates poorer ground if it can sink its roots deep. This plant will also thrive near water, helping to stabilise the banks. It pairs well with somewhat unusual summer blooms like Echinacea purpurea 'Green Twister' and a light grass such as Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldtau'.