July 24, 2011 - Wild Comb
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

Wildflowers have many uses—from culinary and medicinal to gracing a garden. One wildflower has an early history of use as a tool in the wool industry. Originally brought from Europe by wool manufacturers, the dried seed head of this plant was fastened to a spindle and used to “tease” or comb the nap of woolen cloth. That gave it the name teasel. It was also called gypsy comb or brushes-and-combs. The egg-shaped flower heads form at the top of spiny 2-8 foot stems. Flowers are white tubes with 4 purple lobes. The first flowers form a ring around the center of the flower head. Bands of flowers above and below this ring bloom later. Teasel blooms from now through September. Once mature by late fall, flower clusters become dry and hard, ready to become combs.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.