Teasel

teasel seedhead
teasel rosette

Teasel

Dipsacus spp.

Information Sheet (PDF)


Colorado List B - Control required in Jefferson County

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


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.