Lawn bioblitz & Wildlife Watch: The teasel

So this is the second year of a section of our lawn being under a hay-cut (however much my dad grumbles about it) so it's time to go out for another bioblitz and see what's there. It's a little later in the year than the one I carried out last year and most plants are in a post-flowering stage so I may have missed a few (last year's survey was in June as opposed to August).

Last year's count was 24 species of plant which you can find HERE.

This year's list:

1) Cat's ear
2) Dandelion
3) Smooth hawks beard
4) Spear Thistle
5) Meadow bent
6) Rye grass
7) St John's Wort
8) Ground ivy
9) Red clover
10) Wild strawberry
11) Creeping buttercup
12) Ribwort plantain
13) Cow parsley
14) Hop trefoil
15) Teasel
16) Wood avens
17) Daisy
18) Primrose
19) Cowslip
20) Unknown grass similar to wheat

The list looks very different this year owing to it being later in the year with many of last year's species not being recorded at all. Four less species were recorded which may seem like a decrease in biodiversity but is due to the survey taking place later in the year when fewer species are flowering and hence not visible. It was good to see a cowslip flowering on the bank earlier in the year and there are a couple of other species present that weren't spotted last year, notably Teasel which is a large flowering plant that I'm going to look at for the Wildlife Watch - of which there will be two this month as I missed July's. I will aim to carry out next year's count a little earlier in the season as I know I've missed a few species such as the buttercups this year.


Wildlife Watch
The Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

The teasel is a striking architectural-looking plant, growing up to 2 metres, with a prickly stem and unusual spiny cone-shaped flowerhead containing small lilac flowers arranged in a ring. These florets appear as two bands in the centre of the cone and migrate outwards towards the edges during the July-August flowering season.

It's leaves too are strange. Arranged opposite one another they form a 'cup' at their bases and often collect water. These pools of water help prevent sap-sucking insects from climbing the stems. Studies of teasels have also shown that they are partially carnivorous, absorbing nutrients from insects that have drowned in these leaf-pools leading to greater seed production. The teasel is a biennial and only becomes a tall plant in its second year. It spends its first as a basal rosette close to the ground distinguishable by short curved spines on it's bumpy leaves. 

It has wildlife value as a nectar source for insects such as bumblebees and butterflies in the summer and the seeds provide an important food source for goldfinches in the autumn and winter months. The name derives from its use to 'tease' cloth as it was used to full in cloth production.