Dicotyledons with Gamopetalous Flowers . 
61 
Natural Order 
DIPSACEiE. Tab. 49. 
Diagnosis.— Herbs with opposite leaves. Flowers capitate. Corolla 
epigynous. Stamens epipetalous, usually 4. Seed solitary, pendulous, 
albuminous. 
Distribution.— A small Natural Order confined to the Old World, and most numerous in countries 
bordering the Mediterranean and at the Cape of Good Hope. 
Number of British Genera, 3; Species, 5. 
Leaves in Wild Teazle (Dipsacus sylvestris ) broadly connate at the base. 
FLOWER-HEADS in Teazle with projecting persistent bracts ; in Fuller’s Teazle (D. fullonum) recurved and 
elastic : flowers singly inclosed at the base in a cup-like involucel concealing and often closely investing the 
inferior ovary. 
USES, &c.—The heads of Fuller’s Teazle are used by woollen-cloth manufacturers to give a “nap” to their 
fabrics. Scabiosa atropurpurea is a common ornamental species of our open borders ; it is naturalised in the South 
of Europe and is probably of Asiatic origin. 
