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Handbook of Nature-Study 



THE TEASEL 



Teacher's Story 



The old teasel stalks standing gaunt and gray in the fields, braving the 

 blasts of winter, seem like old suits of armor, which elicit admiration from 

 us for the strength and beauty of the protecting visor, breast-plate and 

 gauntlets, and at the same time veer our thoughts to the knights of old 



who once wore them 

 in the fray. Thus, 

 with the teasel, we 

 admire this panoply 

 of spears, and they 

 recall the purple flow- 

 ers and the ribbed 

 seeds which were once 

 the treasure of every 

 spear-guarded cavity 

 and the proud reason 

 of every lance at rest. 

 Let us study this 

 plant in armor: First, 

 its stem is tough, 

 woody, hollow, with 

 ridges extending its 

 full length and each 

 ridge armed with 

 spines which are quite 

 wide at the base and 

 very sharp. It is im- 

 possible to take hold 

 anywhere without be- 

 ing pricked by either 

 large or small spines. 

 The leaves are just 



The teasel. 



fitted for such a stem. 

 They are long, lanceo- 

 late, set opposite in 



pairs, rather coarse in texture, with a stiff, whitish midrib; the bases of 

 the two leaves closely clasp the stem; the midrib is armed below with a 

 row of long, white, recurved prickers, and woe unto the tongue of grazing 

 beast that tries to lift this leaf into the mouth. If one pair of clasping 

 leaves point east and Vest, the next pairs above and below point north 

 and south. 



The flower stems come off at the axils of the leaves and therefore each 

 pair stands at right angles to the ones above and below. But if the 

 teasel protects its stem and leaves with spikes, it does more for its flowers, 

 which are set in dense heads armed with spines, and the head is set in an 

 involucre of long, upcurving spiny prongs. If we look at it carefully, the 

 teasel flower-head wins our admiration, because of the exquisite geomet- 

 rical design made by the folded bases of the spines, set in diagonal rows. 

 If we pull out a spine, we find that it enlarges toward the base to a tri- 

 angular piece that is folded at right angles for holding the flower. Note 



