Dipsacus sylvestris 
Wild Teasel 
DIPSACUS Vm. Gin. Pi. Tetrakdkia Monorynia 
Calyx communis, polyphyllus ; proprius fuperus. Reccpt. paleaceum. 
Kz7//. Syti. 'Gen. -8. corymbiferis affines. 
DTPSACUS capitulis ovatis, foliis arcuatis circumvallatis, ariftis Iquamarum reO:is. Haller hijl. n. 198. 
DIPSACUS fylveftris feu Labrum Veneris. /. B. III. 74. 
DIPSACUS fylveftris aut Virga padoris major. C. B. pin. 385. 
DIPSACUS fylveftris. Ger, emac. 1167. Parkins. 984. 
Hudfon. FI. Angi ed. 2. p. 6 . 
'Lighlfoot FI. Scot, p, 113. 
PJacquin FI. Atijir. t. 402. , 
•RADIX biennis, limplex, 'fibris majufculis donacus. 
CAULIS tripedalis ad orgyalem, _ ramofus, teres, 
ftriatus, inanis, inferius fpinis tarius dUpofttIs, 
prope -capitula creberrimis horridus. 
FOLIA radkalia primi anni fupra terram in orbem 
fparfa, ovato-oblonga, obtudufcula, crenato- 
ferrata, rugofa, fpinulis rarioribus afpera, 
caulina faltem inferiora minus rugofa, bafi 
adeo connata ut finum magnum efficiant, poft 
pluvias aqua plenum, ovato-acuta, crenata, 
fpinis ad marginem et nervum medium ra- 
rius obfitum, Jtimma minus connata, magif- 
•^ue lanceolata, integerrima et fere inermia. 
'CAPITULA plurima-, ‘-Iblitarla, eredla, ovato-oblonga, 
fubacuminata. 
FLORES purpurei, ■circa medium capituli primo 
erumpentes. 
INVOLUCRUM polypTiyllum, foliolis fublinearibus, 
rigidis, fpinulofis, furfiim arcuatis, longi- 
tudine capituli, inicqualibus. 
CALYX; Perianthium proprium, minimum, viride, 
ciliatum. Jig. i. 
COROLLA monopetala, tubulofa ; Tubas infundibuli- 
formis, bafi attenuatus, albidus, ad lentem 
villofulus ; Limbus quadrifidus, ere<ftu«, pur- 
pureus, laciniis obtufis, extima majori, 2. 
STAMINA: Filamenta quatuor, albida, capillaria, 
refta, tubo corollae inferta; Anther.® in- 
cumbentes, oblongre, violacea?, fig. 3. 
PISTILLUM; Germen inferum, tetragonum, albi- 
dum, fulcatum, margine fupenie viridi ; 
Stylus filiformis albus, corolla paulo brevior; 
Stigma canaliculatum, fubinflexum 4. 
5. 6. 
RECEPTACULUM paleaceum, paleis longitudine 
ftaminum, rigidis, ariftatis, fupremis longi- 
oribus, bafi concavis, fubtriangularibus ; 
Arijia acuminata, reifta, hifpidula. fig. 8, 
ROOT biennial, fimple, furnifhed with large fibres. 
STALK from three to fix feet high, branched, round, 
ftriated, hollow, fpinous, fpines near the 
bafe but few, near the heads very numerous, 
long andfharp. 
LEAVES : radical leaves of the firft years plant 
fpread on the ground in a circular form, are 
of an oblong oval fhape, bluntifh at the point, 
notched on the edges, wrinkled, and rough 
with fpines thinly fcatter’d ever the leaf, 
thofe of the jlalk at leaft the lowermoft ones, 
are lefs wrinkled, and united at the bafe la 
fuch a manner as to form a large cavity, 
which contains water after rain, of an oval 
pointed fhape, notched, and thinly befet with 
fpines on the edge and mid-rib, the uppermoji 
leaves (lightly united at the bafe, narrower, 
entire, and almoft free from fpines. 
HEADS numerous, growing fingly on footftalks, up- 
right, of an oblong egg fhape, fomewhat 
pointed at top. 
FLOWERS purple, firft breaking forth about the 
middle of the head- 
INVOLUCRUM compofed of many leaves which are 
fomewhat linear, rigid, befet with fmall 
fpines, bending upwards, the length of the 
heads, unequal. 
CALYX : the Perianthium of each flofcule is very 
minute, green and edged with hairs. i. 
COROLLA monopetalous, tubular; the Ta^ffunnel- 
fhaped, narrowed at the bafe, whitifh and 
nightly villous if magnified; thei,/w^ divi- 
ded into four fegments, upright, purple, the 
fegments obtufe, the outermoft largeft._/i^. 2, 
STAMINA: four Filaments, of a whitifh colour, 
very fine, ftraight, inferted into the tube of 
the corolla; Anther® incumbent, oblong, 
of a violet colour, fg. 3. 
PISTILLUM : Germen placed below the calyx, four 
corner’d, whitifh, grooved, the edge on the 
upper part green ; Style thread-fhaped, 
white, a little fhorter than the corolla. 
Stigma channeled and bent a little in. 
Jig. 4. 5. 6. 
RECEPTACLE chaffy chaff the length of the Stamina, 
rigid, bearded, the uppermoft longeft, at bot- 
tom hollow, and fomewhat triangular ; the 
Beard or awn running out to a long, ftraight, 
and fomewhat hifpid point, 8. 
THE antlent Botanifts always confidered the wild and the manured Teafel as two diftinfl: fpecles, and ’till the 
time of Linnaeus but one opinion prevailed on the fubjeft, that great Botanift too haftily concluded that the Dip- 
facus fullonum was only a variety of the jyh^ris, fome few have implicitly followed that opinion, but Haller and 
'jaeguin diftlnguiflied by their nice difeernment and accurate deferiptions unite in confidering the fyhejlris as a 
ipecies totally dlftinft from fullonum : in the manured Teafel the leaves of the Involucrum are fhort and hori- 
zontally extended, in the wild one they are long and encircle the head, the Paleie in the former are always hooked 
at the extremity, in the latter never, tho’ cultivated, many other diftindUons will be pointed out when we give the 
hiftoryand manner of cultivating the manured Teafel. 
This fpecies grows very commonly on the edges of paftures, In uncultivated places, by road fides, and flowers 
from July to September. 
The water collefted in the bafon form’d by the union of the leaves towards the bottom of the ftalk is fald to 
cure warts on the hands if feveral times wafhed with it, and hence Ray conjedlures this plant might have received 
its name of habrum Veneris. 
Cattle in general even the Afs appear to avoid it ; as is (hewn by the dried ftems and heads which remain all 
the winter, but there is a fmall Moth about twice the fize of the Euonymella, fpeckled with black, which finds 
its way into this formidable plant, and makes a comfortable and fecure domicilium of its fpinous head. vid. 
Moufet Tbeat. Infeht. p. 256. Raii catal. pla&i. circa Cant. p. 45. 
