TEASEL, Dipsacus sylvestris Huds. 1, portion of stem with flowers; 2, seed. Biennial, reproducing by seed. Stem the second year, coarse, upright, prickly, 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m) tall. Leaves lance-oblong, toothed, prickly on margin; a rosette the first year, opposite the second year. Flowers lilac or white, with 4 petals, in dense ovoid heads with numerous slender bracts that become stiff-hooked prickles at maturity. Seeds about 3/16 inch (4.5 mm) long, 4-angled, ridged, hairy, grayish brown. Found in roadsides, pastures, and old fields.