Dipsacus spp.

Teasel

While not in every herbalist’s medicine cabinet, Dipsacus has proven its abilities through historical use, research, and in clinical practice.

Teasel: Dipsacus spp.

The teasel subfamily (Dipsacoideae) has inhabited areas across Europe, Asia, and Africa since before the European colonization of the Americas. The specific genus of Dipsacus comprises approximately 15 species, although not all of these have a history of use in herbalism. 

Teasel flower heads were originally cultivated for use in textiles, specifically for pulling apart or “teasing” wool fibers, as far back as 12th-century France and possibly even the Roman Empire (27 BCE - 476 CE). This ethnobotanical use led to the development of the common name teasel.

One species, Dipsacus fullonum, has the common name of fuller’s teasel which signifies that it was used in fulling, a step in clothmaking that shrinks and thickens wool fibers for a smoother and tightly finished fabric.

Teasel acts on kidney jing.

Despite its wide growth range, teasel isn’t a commonly used plant among Western herbalists, and there is little information regarding its use in this form of practice.

However, in Chinese medicine traditions, Dipsacus japonicus (Asian teasel) has a long history of being used to support the kidney essence and liver blood, which are seen as the source of bones and source of tendons, respectively.

The Chinese name, xu duan, literally translates to “restore what is broken” and testifies to this plant’s importance in strengthening the structure of the body in chronic conditions.

Despite it being found almost everywhere, teasel is often overlooked as a beneficial plant and is more widely known as being a bothersome and irritating weed; but in the words of Stephen Buhner, “invasive plants [are] earth’s way of insisting we notice her medicine.”