In the French Revolutionary Calendar, today was Cardère, Day of the Teasel. 10 facts about teasels.
The teasel plant belongs to the genus Dipsacus. This name comes from the Greek word for thirst, because the leaves which merge at the stem resemble a cup.
The word teasel comes from an old use of the plant, which was raising the nap on woollen cloth, also known as teasing, which produces teased wool.
Because of this, the coat of arms of the Clothworkers' Company granted in 1530 includes a golden teasel head.
The first scientific record of a teasel in the British Isles was in 1538. There are about 15 different species of teasel plants.
The plants have distinctive Purple flowers. It’s the dead flower heads are often used in flower arrangements, or by the National Trust in some of their properties to prevent people from sitting on antique and fragile furniture. As a volunteer at one such property, I once witnessed American tourists so fascinated by this that they took loads of photographs of the teasels!
Francis Darwin, son of Charles, hypothesised that teasels were actually carnivorous plants, trapping insects in the aforementioned cup-like arrangement of leaves in order to digest them. In 2011 scientists tested this theory by placing dead maggots in the “cups”. The conclusion was that the biomass of the plants was not affected but it did cause a 30 % increase in seeds.
The teasel plant is biennial, which means it lives for two years, producing flowers in its second year, just before it dies.
The juice of the root cures wounds, cankers and fistulas, and removes warts, whilst the juice of the leaves, dropped in the ears, kills the worms in them. Distilled water from the leaves preserves the beauty of women. So said Culpepper in 1653.
In parts of Europe, the plant was associated with the devil and believed to be magical. The spiny stems of the plant were thought to ward off evil spirits and protect crops from damage. Some people believed they brought good luck and prosperity and so used them in ceremonies such as weddings. They came in handy at funerals, too, as teasels were believed to help the souls of the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
The seeds are an important part of the winter diet of birds like the European Goldfinch. You’ll often find them in nature reserves for this reason.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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