[The Teasel Family East of the Cascade Mts.]
Common Teasel, Fuller's Teasel, Teasel, Wild Teasel

Dipsacus fullonum

Synonyms: Dipsacus fullonum ssp. fullonum, Dipsacus fullonum ssp. sylvestris, Dipsacus sylvestris

The photo above shows a close-up of the flower head of teasel as seen at Page Springs at the western base of the Steens Mt. in southeastern Oregon....................July 2004.

Teasel is a biennial weed that sows viable seed quite regularly. It can be controlled without use of chemicals, at least for smaller infestations by visiting the affected site at regular intervals through the course of several successive years. Allow the plants to reach the early spring or summer of their second year. The plants will begin sending up an erect stem. When it is several feet high, the stem can be cut near the base. The plant should then be unable to send up another stem and should die without flowering or spreading seed.

The opposite stem leaves of teasel.

Paul Slichter