Teasel, A Weed No More

Teasel has transitioned from weed to a plant worthy of some attention in my world.  It's not like I am going to go out and sow it willy-nilly in the garden but I do grow it every year and have for some time now, finding it rather entertaining.

Because it is a roadside weed,  people pass it by, never really looking at it normally but they do see it in my garden and are often amazed when they find out what it actually is.  Oh sure, I get some who wonder why I would bother growing it too but that's all part of the fun of it.

It was several years before I actually saw one bloom.  I was obviously not paying very close attention because the darn things grow all over the waste places along roadsides and near ditches.  When I finally did see one bloom I remember how awestruck I was.  I'm sure if anyone had seen me and been within earshot they would have thought I had lost my mind as a stood looking up babbling in amazement.  Instead of  blooming all at once the blooms begin at the middle middle of the oval shaped head/cone, progressing up and down at the same time.  Its fascinating.


It is a biennial plant forming a rosette of lance shaped leaves the first year and the flowering stems the following year.  It grows to between three and six feet tall unless it is this one in my garden.  Its more like eight feet tall.

Nearly eight feet tall.

The lance shaped leaves are fused together on the stem at their base which creates a basin where water collects when it rains creating a good watering hole for insects though some drown after falling into the water.  The Greeks called this basin Venus' Basin and in Europe it was called Mary's Basin.  Some say that water is a good cure for warts if there are dead bugs in the water and is good for an eye wash if the water is clear and clean.  I have yet to not see dead bugs in it though so stick with the wart remedy if you want to try it on something.

The leaves, branches and bracts all have short spines on them making them tricky to harvest if you forget to wear gloves. The branching each produce a cone shaped flower head at their tip.

I love the linear shaped bracts that cradel the flower head.

So why did I soften to this roadside weed...because it has too many good qualities for me to consider it any more a weed than the herbs I cultivate in my garden...and it is just a cool plant to look at.

It was used over the centuries as a medicinal herb, fell out of favor and is again being used for medicine. The dried flower cones were used to raise the nap of wool fabric back in the day in a practice known as fulling or brushing and thus the name "Fuller's Teasel" or Teasel.  The bees, blow flies and butterflies enjoy the flowers of this plant and the birds, especially Gold Finches love the seeds making it a great plant for wildlife.

Just finishing its bloom it will begin to dry and be ready for harvesting for crafting.

Teasel has long been used in dried arrangements, painted and used for seasonal decor and Christmas ornaments.  You can also create cute little hedgehogs out of them too...just remember to wear gloves, the other nickname for it is Johnny-prick-finger.

Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.

Weedy Wednesday: St. John's Wort

St. John's Wort is our "Weedy Wednesday" plant this week.  This plant has a conflicted reputation, a devil in one sense because it is a noxious weed, but in another sense a useful herb. It has brought some conflict among gardeners as to whether we should allow it to take root in our gardens too so I thought I'd share a little bit about it in the spirit of helping us make a wise decision.

Chase Devil, Tipton Weed, Klamath Weed, St John's Wort

St. John's Wort has been used for thousands of years medicinally and there is a long list of names attributed to it (the link is most likely not a complete list but a good indicator of its history).  The efficacy of it medicinally was tested recently in Germany and it has been tested in Canada as well.  There are several publications with information on its use as a medicinal herb that you can read for more information on it.

Reddish stems which will each hold several flowers

Hypericum perforatum is a stoloniferous herbaceous perennial that in winter can be seen as a rosette, the grouping of leaves and stems that surround the crown of the plant.  Its leaves are opposite of each other on the stem.  As far as I know there is not another weed in my garden that looks similar.

Little bits of light showing the perforated leaf, an important ID feature

If you hold one of the leaves up to the light you will see what appear to be little pin holes, thus the species name "perforatum".

The plant produces several flowering stems that grow between 2' to 3' tall but can get as tall as 5'.  Each flower produces seed by the hundreds with each plant capable of producing 100,000 seeds per year.  These seeds can persist in the soil for decades. (Knowing this, do you want it in your garden or not?)

It is important to note that this plant has had a negative impact, out competing native and foraging plants and is considered a noxious weed in at least 20 countries around the world.  However, it is cultivated as an herb for commercial purposes in some areas of south eastern Europe. (What to do, what to do...)

It can be controlled digging out plants when you see them or using herbicides such as 2, 4-D and Glysophate if needed.  As a biological control, Chrysolina beetle were introduced in the 1940s and have now become well established in helping battle this weed in the western United States.  These beetles feed on the leaves and flower buds and help to keep it from spreading unchecked.  This year was the first year I had seen them in my garden.

Chrysolina beetle in my garden are feasting quite happily this year.

Important to note is that this plant is poisonous to grazing animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and horses if they eat enough of it.

Personally I like the bit of yellow the blooms add to the garden, even if it is not refined in its appearance.  It is however a self sower and those seeds, hundreds in each seed pod and they last for decades in the soil so I'm never going to be completely rid of it...and if anything happens to me it will become a nightmare plant!  So I think I've made up my mind.  Have you made up yours yet?

With all of that said, don't you think we need to ask some very important questions here?  If it grows so readily do we even need to bother with it or will letting it grow in our garden only become a part of the problem?

So think about it; it may be useful but should we really be cultivating it or just wild harvesting if need be?  I'm not sure if this helped any of you, but I know I'll be pulling out all of mine. The way I see it is I can always harvest it in the wild which will also help keep it from spreading.  Happy Gardening!

NOTE: Be sure to always properly ID any plant before using it medicinally, especially if it is to be taken internally!

Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.