Teasel

Teasel

Dipsacus spp.

Colorado List B - Eradication required in parts of Jefferson County

Information Sheet (pdf)

Eradication Zone Map (pdf)

General

• Biennial
• Family: Dipsacaceae
• Introduced to North America in the 1700s
• Native of Europe

Habitat

• Found in pastures, rangeland, right-of-ways, ditch banks and disturbed areas
• Moist to dry, fertile soil

Plant

Vegetation

• Clasps the stem, forming cup-like structures
• Leaves are oblong, hairy
• Mature plants grow 2 to 8 feet tall

Roots

• Thick tap root

Flower

• Color: purple and white
• Each plant produces about 3,300 seeds
• Season: flowers June through October
• Upward curving stiff bracts below flower heads

Seed

• 3,300 per plant
• May be transported by birds
• Most germinate in the first season
• Seed drops from mother plant

Seedling

• Seedlings live for a year or more before bolting

Reproduction

• Seed

Control

Biological

• None

Chemical

• View Information Sheet (PDF)

Cultural

• Prevention - maintain health of site
• Rosette removal
• Seed head removal and disposal

Mechanical

• Burning - Late spring (new populations)
• Grazing - N/A
• Mowing - Repeated before flower formation

Use all chemicals according to the manufacturer's label. No specific recommendation or endorsement is made or implied by listing methods or products.