12/07/2026
On a short walk out with the camera yesterday, looking for a specific type of caterpillar (more on this in a later post), I took these images of "w**ds".
The Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum, with its spiky head was beloved of Fullers who used to clean wool and cloth. They then used the spikes of the teasel to "tease" the wool / cloth and get the threads all heading in the same direction to produce a knap.
The flower head has pretty blue flowers which die off to reveal the spiky head. It is possible that the teasel is partially carnivorous. The multitude of insects caught in the spiky heads collect in a cup like structure beneath the head and the plant feeds off the nutrients so provided.
Rubus fruticosus - British Blackberry or Bramble. Fruit used for jams and pies. They spread rapidly by means of seed dropped by birds and by plants forming where branches come in contact with the soil. Used by ancient Britons to form a boundary to keep stock in, the equivalent of a barbed wire fence.
The photo here shows the flower before the fruit is produced but already many blackberries are ready for picking.
Cirsium vulgare - Spear thistle or common thistle, one of many types of thistle. Beloved of insects such as many types of butterfly. These plants spread so very easily as the seed heads are carried on the wind. I still remember, as a boy, being given a hoe and told to clear a pasture of the numerous thistles that were taking it over.
