Common Teasel

I always liked these things...I snagged some seed pods from the side of the railroad tracks. I think they look neat in a vase I have.

Would it be irresponsible to grow some? I'm not concerned about invasiveness from the gardening standpoint, more from an ecological one. There's an area behind my house where I'm planting native asters and goldenrods and such, I thought these might be nice in there, too. Opinions? Seed requests? lol Thanks, Mike





Picture courtesy of Virginia Tech, wether they like it or not

Don't do it, Mike. You will really be sorry.

This plant spreads like fire, and it tolerates wet as well as dry. Enjoy it from a distance, and don't encourage it around your property.

I assume you read plantfiles on it. Is it a listed invasive? I never see it around central MD.
PS sorry I doubted the tradescantia ID~~! you had it.

PlantFiles comments definitely include a negative, and some negative-sounding neutrals, but for some reason PA doesn't list it as invasive. I know I saw it on another state's list, Ohio maybe? I'm not going to plant it, but they are neat looking. Gee wiz, the plant ID thing - That one is hard! I have those lemon lilies, I was pretty sure it wasn't that, because I just divided a bunch a few weeks ago, and a couple days before that post, my neighbor gave me some seeds from his Tradescantia, in fact, he just pulled the plants out of the ground and handed them to me, but no roots. But it sure looked like it. Raydio figured that one out. Doubting and questioning and looking at the possibilities is how that works anyway. I was just down there in Anne Arundel County today, the trees are beautiful!

it sounds like th Teasel has the potential to be invasive aound here, but then again, if it escaped in the 1800s from the mills, why don't I ever see it? hard to overlook. only saw it couple years ago near Cumberland MD.
My tradescanti a clump is only about four years old. I guess that's why it hasn't developed an obvious rhizome. I felt boneheaded when I read back and someone said that 'rhizome' was in the trad. description s/he had read. Well, it was a good exercise.
Yes AA co is pretty now,but won't last much longer

I was given some a number of years ago - misidentified as 'coneflower'. NOT!!!
Fortunately, there weren't many that germinated, but I'm gonna have to be vigilant in spot-spraying to make sure it's eradicated before it 'gets away'.

My first encounter with teasel was up in VV's neck of the woods, and it's pretty common along the roadsides on the Bluegrass Pkwy.

That's Dipsacus fullonum. I really think if you do a little bit more web surfing you will find it probably isn't something you want getting a foothold anywhere near you. It's popping up all over this area and so is D. laciniatus. They're both exotic invasives and they're both noxious weeds.

I just popped over here with the same question. I scored some lovely dried teasel heads the other day and made some awesome Christmas arrangements..I also used Winged Elm...hmmm...Merry Invasive Christmas...

Anyway, as I was working with the teasel, seeds fell out, and I scooped them into a bowl....I've looked at it from afar for years and have always thought that a small clump would be handy for crafts and such, but feared that I'd have it running out of my ears if I actually cultivated it.

I really like the heads for dried arrangements and it's not extremely common in this area....

I was hoping that it wasn't too hard to control...but sounds like I need to just stock up on it from the wild when I find it. now, I'm concerned that I've spread seeds by hauling the stuff around....

Here's the arrangement....I thought it looked nice...

That is neat!
When I gathered my Teasel the seeds fell all over in the car, they really do just fall out of the pod. They're weird looking, too, little tiny rectangular blocks that I Won't be planting LOL! I vacuumed the car before the "boss" saw the mess

I love that arrangement. I could see the poinsettias swapped out for ribbons with hearts on them for Valentine's Day and I have seen really attractive ribbons with green 4-leaf clovers on them at Hobby Lobby before which would be neat for St Patrick's Day. Teasel really does look nice in dried flower arrangements. You did a great job.

If you spread seeds from hauling it around... oh well. How were you supposed to know. I use European Phragmites in dried flower arrangements. What I do with that is bend it over into a tall kitchen garbage bag and then cut it off at the height I want. It falls right in the bag and when I have as much as I want, I tie off the drawstrings. When I get it home and stick the plant parts in a pot and fan them out, I spray the tops with my own hairspray so it stops dropping seed on my floor.

Cutting into a garbage bag will be the way I handle it from now on.....I usually keep emergency supplies of that sort in the car...but had nothing the other day. They just rode home in the trunk.

I guess I wasn't clear enough in my admonition above. As Lucky mentioned, it is here everywhere.

I am amazed and disheartened that none of you offered to come up to the Valley and collect teasel heads/bodies/seeds/entire plants (especially melody, a fellow Kentuckian -- and claypa who hails from my birthplace)!

May I send you some? A truckload?

I remember this plant first from my youth, when my mother made arrangements in a tall clay jar (probably a big butter churn or some such) with teasel, mimicking the Shaker decorations we would regularly see at Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY. We'd snitch a stem and annoy our siblings with the scratchy stem and prickly head.

I've made arrangements here at home with the stems/heads, along with quite a few other invasives (Miscanthus, among them) for all winter interest indoors or out. I have them to spare.

Benton and Pottstown aren't really that far away, on the map.

I'm guessing you folks are familiar with the Wyeth family of artists and illustrators.... They have museum a few miles from Longwood Gardens called the Brandywine River Museum. At Christmas they have a huge model train set up, and decorate the place with natural materials, featuring, as it turns out.... Teasel. Here's a few pictures...

Noah's Ark
Only the boat wasn't made of seeds and such:

The trees were about 25' high, all decorated with natural materials.

A Teasel teddy bear paddling some kind of pod canoe

Some of the pictures aren't the best, but here's the top star. I'm thinking Allium schubertii?

Another

Owl, etc.

Angels, et al.

Here's a fungal Amphibian, I guess

A Moose in the middle

Probably should have posted all these somewhere else, but they were mostly Teasel.... a couple of the building and I'll stop. The trees were in this atrium

Not sure if the museum is an old mill or if it just looks like one

I have to post this. My niece, proud owner of the world's shiniest burgundy patent leather shoes, and largest eyes.
I can't believe we're related...

Yes, I'm familiar with the Wyeth Family however I wasn't aware they had a museum.

The teasel handcrafted ornaments are all really creative but the Ark was the best. I'm partial to Arks and I collect them. I'm looking at the shape of that Allium schubertii and wondering what that might look like spray painted gold and rolled in glue and glitter for a children's craft project. I liked the tree just as it is with the ornaments "au naturelle" however I am always on the lookout for child friendly projects and I never thought of using dried Allium as an ornament either "as is" or painted. Great shape to it and reminds me of fireworks.

Nice photos. Glad you had an interest in the handcrafts at the museum and took lots of photos. We certainly aren't lacking for Teasel around here and you realy presented some great craft ideas that other members can use for projects.

Your niece (proud owner of the world's shiniest burgundy patent leather shoes, and largest eyes) is a cutie. Do you do any crafts with her? I have one niece and she's my pride and joy too. She and I are buddies and she is quite the little artist. Little girls have very different interests than little boys so I thoroughly enjoy my niece and by the looks of the photo you took... you're enamored with your niece too. By the way, my niece has the world's shiniest and sparkliest purple shoes with a matching purple purse. We bought them on one of our auntie/niece shopping excursions. She's almost ready to grow out of the shoes and is not happy about that but the purse will last until her tastes change.

There's the cat in the hat. I think he's White Pine cones. Thanks for indulging me. Happy twelfth day of Christmas! (almost :) )
Mike

Equilibrium, I thought you'd enjoy these... Yes, the museum is amazing too, no cameras in the galleries, though. The Wyeths have another museum in Rockland, Maine. This one's a little larger, and they have quite a collection of American illustrators. Do you know the painting of the swashbuckling type boots stepping on a weed? The boots belonged to Howard Pyle. I guess he gave them to the Wyeths. I stared at that for about twenty minutes while the kids were running around. The trains have more than 2000' feet of track, no way to absorb all the detail. What a blast! There were real miniature ice skaters on a frozen pond, Santa on his sleigh flying through the air, you name it

Found a link to the painting "Trodden Weed" Invasive related subject matter.....? See if it works..

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.andrewwyeth.com/images/AndrewWyethTrodden.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.andrewwyeth.com/AndrewWyeth2.html&h=360&w=328&sz=117&hl=en&sig2=id9LefnpWvvqFtnz1gfOgA&start=5&tbnid=FPl5lNAZpOcakM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=110&ei=Q92dRf_6J7WMaZavwcgN&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTrodden%2BWeed%2B%2Bwyeth%2B%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

This message was edited Jan 5, 2007 12:11 AM

Yup, looks like the Cat in the Hat to me.

I truly didn't realize the Wyeth Family had one museum let alone two.

I don't know as I am readily familiar with the boots painting however I am quite familiar with the classic Wyeth watercolor/tempera style and I have always been attracted to it.

I was just poking around for you over in Home Talk and found a forum over there called Crafts and Decorating Discussion Forum that I had no idea even existed until I specifically went looking. Holy cow, we're talking the motherload of ideas over there. These teasel ornaments of critters are really interesting in that they have a year round appeal and if you ever have a chance, you might want to post them over there too. Not that they aren't perfectly appropriate here in a thread titled "Common Teasel" but there may be other people over there who pick up on how readily available Teasel is and how it could be used for fun projects. With a little felt, pipe cleaners, and googlie eyes; who knows what kids would create.

Check this out-
http://davesgarden.com/place/f/hahome/all/

You don't by any chance have any more photos of that Ark do you? Was it for sale by any chance?

No, but there were plenty of ornaments for sale. The museum docents and volunteers use the money towards buying more art for the museum. They mostly looked pretty simple to make. My Cathy bought a cat ornament. It's body is a Sweetgum ball, berry eyes and nose, and the whiskers were the basal rosette/sepals (?) of a teasel. I can't i d the head, though. They had quite a selection of native plant seeds, too. I got Geranium maculatum, Aquilegia canadensis, and Vernonia noveboracensis. It looked cool, but I thought the package said Veronica lol! Apparently noveboracensis is the Latin name for New York? I didn't know. Going to check that forum now.

I'm only familiar with photos of Vernonia noveboracensis but it is Veronia not Veronica. It's not native to my State so I haven't played with that seed or the plants for that matter. You'll have to share photos of your seedlings after you germinate them. Are you aware there is an Indigenous Plants Forum here? You might want to check that out.

Haven't a clue whether or not noveboracensis is Latin for the name New York or not but it could be. There is an awesome native fern out there that is indigenous to NY as well as to my state called Thelypteris noveboracensis so maybe. I know there are a few indigenous birds out there with noveboracensis as part of the scientific name but I'm not all that great with bird distribution and I'd have to go do a search to check out which ones they are and where they're from.

Have fun over in that crafts forum I found and I hope you surface sometime soon. I first stumbled upon another forum titled "Artisans" when I was poking around for another place to share your goodies and picked up a really neat thread on concrete benches. Oh this site is soooooooo big. All kinds of wonderful things just waiting to be discovered.

Noveboracensis, from what I can find, means From New York. Your pictures are neat. My mom always has somebody do her decorating and once she had this lady decorate for Christmas for her, and her tree had various items from the landscaping. It was the neatest tree she had. She's never had another do such a good job on the tree. Not quite what yours are claypa, but neat nonetheless.

Thanks for the virtual tour ; that is one huge allium head. and creative creatures.
Williamsburg's doors last year (maybe every year) had a variety of wreaths with natural decor. They were so nice. I would really enjoy hunting and gathering all the seasonal decor instead of prowling a store. Then later, composting it!

Tee he, I think we're about to lose claypa to the Crafts and Decorating Forum for a while!

I've seen the "au natural" trees before and they certainly do have an earthy wholesome presence in a room. I've never seen one utilizing exotic plant parts before but I'd most certainly be a proponent of that. Those teasel ornaments were awesome and the Ark is incredible.

Did anyone else zoom in on the photo and catch that the sheep are made out of dandelion heads? And check out the owls perched on top of the Ark to the right. If those aren't the cutest little things! Anyone know or want to take a guess at what they used for the bodies of the lions?

Eq, they're teasel! I don't know if they were sheared a little, or if they just chose the longest ones, but I remember them being teasel. Amazing how soft and cuddly it looks when it's not in your hand.

Yes, I'm still trying to figure out the etymology of that 'noveboracensis'.... 'nov' meaning new, I get that part, and 'ensis' usually refers to a place, but I'll keep looking.
Williamsburg does Christmas beautifully. I remember lots of Magnolia leaves and fruit displays. I haven't been there in ages though.
I do have a few of those Allium schubertii planted now, I hope they do well. It's not a tall plant, maybe knee high

This message was edited Jan 5, 2007 1:21 PM

Borrowing a portion of your photo for a moment- the bodies of the lions were Teasel too? Maybe we aren't looking at the same area of the photo. These are lions entering the Ark, right? I've not got the greatest vision in the world so maybe they aren't. It looked as if their heads were Teasel but I don't quite know about those bodies of whatever those critters are.

oops, sorry, I was thinking tigers when you said lions... I'll go look.

I dunno, I've seen pods in the tropics that looked like that. Maybe some leguminous plant or tree pod. There wasn't any explanation of what they were using. You could get exhausted reading every bit of info near the paintings, so it was nice to just have eye candy without the words.

Maybe a long shot, but that place has lots of volunteers, I bet one of them would be able to tell us more. Maybe e-mail them some questions.... they might hit you up for a donation though! LOL I'll see what I can find

This message was edited Jan 5, 2007 1:37 PM

Ok, I'm not as blind as I think then. I saw the tigers and loved the effect they created on those.

I have to borrow a portion of your photo again because the owls literally crack me up! just look at the eyeballs on the one on the right-

Maybe acorn caps with seeds in 'em..

I dunno. The bodies sort of looked like disfigured tootsie rolls to us.