« Previous Day: Vaccinium cylindraceum |
Main
| Next Day: Capsicum annuum cultivars »
May 13, 2008: Boschniakia strobilacea
May 13, 2007:
Rosa 'Ausmas'
May 13, 2006:
Lobelia tupa
May 13, 2005:
Enkianthus campanulatus
October 25, 2006 : Dipsacus sativus
Keywords: Dipsacaceae | Dipsacus sativus (L.) Honckeny | Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
I was initially confused while trying to determine the name of this species, and apparently Linnaeus is to blame. My first inclination was to search online for wool and Dipsacus or teasel and discover what species were used for textiles. Some references pointed to Dipsacus fullonum, or fuller's teasel, as a likely candidate. This species was named by Linnaeus, and seemed to indicate that this was the species used by fullers (people who “bulked up” cloth woven by weavers, to make it feel more full). However, other references suggested Dipsacus sativus, or Indian teasel as the teasel of the textile industry, and ultimately this made far more sense to me.
What are the differences between the two species that bolsters that conclusion? Again, the Jepson Manual helps: Key to Dipsacus. Note that Dipsacus fullonum has more or less flexible receptacle bracts, ending in straight spines while Dipsacus sativus has stiff bracts with recurved spines. If you were going to use one or the other of these to bulk up wool, which would you choose? The one with the recurved spines to catch the wool and pull it. Confusion cleared up.
This photograph is from the small museum in the Mission Santa Barbara in California.
Photography resource link: for inspiration, the photography of Guy Edwardes.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at October 25, 2006 6:13 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Sophie at October 25, 2006 8:42 AM
There is an old woolen mill at "Upper Canada Village", where one can see the actual frames with the teasel heads, I don't know if they still run the mill for visitors. "Teasel", seems to be related to "Thistle". By the sound.
Posted by: Big Al at October 25, 2006 2:36 PM
Back in the 60's we used to make big hair by 'teasing' it with a comb. Perhaps if we'd had a teasel we could have got up an hour later those dark wintry mornings.
Posted by: Olena at October 25, 2006 5:43 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
Post a comment
XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.
About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums
Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
The French name is cardère.
They were cultivated in great numbers during 3 centuries, used to make fine cloth. At the end of the 19th century, there were still 2300 hectares of cultivated cardères in France. The surface then quickly decreased to a few small villages in South-east France, where the cardères completely disappeared in 1983.
Around that time, a nature periodic (http://lahulotte.fr) laid hands on a bag of seeds in a thistle dealer warehouse, and distributed the seeds to its readers. They recently made an enquiry on how the "cardère des villes", as they called them, had feared, but I don't know the results.