The end of our walk across Spaunton Moor involved crossing three fields before a gate gives access to the main road at Hutton le Hole. Just before the gate is an area which was once rather overgrown and neglected. A few years ago the area was tidied up, two benches were installed and many wild flowers grow. If we are back too early for the Moorsbus, this is a lovely place to sit for a while and enjoy the wildflower display. It was here where we found a display of teasels.
I particularly liked this teasel, still green, and in flower although it has already lost a lot of its flower display. The teasel is native to Europe, the Mediterranean area, and tropical Africa. The plants are sometimes grown as ornamentals or to attract birds, and the dried flower heads are used in the floral industry.
Many teasels are prickly, coarse biennials with opposite leaves that join at the base to form a rainwater-holding trough around the stem. The tall-domed heads of numerous four-lobed flowers sit on a crown-like circle of spiny narrow bracts (leaf-like structures). Male parts mature before female parts to ensure cross-pollination. The dried inflorescence persists after flowering, and the seeds are an important food for birds.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Well done to a lot of you for spotting the mouth! I had totally missed that - I blame the heat for that (I'm blaming the heat for everything at the moment).
We like teasels too, Pat has grown them in the past. In Lancs they were grown for use in the Mills. Huge rollers contained 4,000 teasels over which fabric was dragged to give it a nap. I'll FAV it after all this.
Thank you Paul. I've seen a display somewhere where teasels were being used in an industrial setting. I can't remember where I saw it, but it could have been the Armley Mills museum in Leeds, or one of various museums we have visited in Lancashire.
Ian
August 19th, 2022
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Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Well done to a lot of you for spotting the mouth! I had totally missed that - I blame the heat for that (I'm blaming the heat for everything at the moment).
Ian
Love the 'heart shape' the little flowers make
Thank you Nina, I think they are very attractive plants, especially as they are losing their flowers.
Ian
Thank you Paul. I've seen a display somewhere where teasels were being used in an industrial setting. I can't remember where I saw it, but it could have been the Armley Mills museum in Leeds, or one of various museums we have visited in Lancashire.
Ian