Perennials and biennials, often with spiny leaves. Upright stems carry cylindrical-like heads of small, pale lilac, white or yellowish flowers, with spiny bracteoles between the flowers. The heads of D. sativus (teasel) have been used since Roman times for fulling or teasing ie raising the nap of woollen cloth.
One of the staples of any gardener wanting to encourage wildlife (and who wouldn't?!), all teasels are outstanding for pollinating insects of all kinds, from bumblebees and honeybees, bugs and beetles, to butterflies and moths. Aphids like teasels, and that attracts the ladybirds that go on to help keep your other plants free of aphids. The flowerheads are larval foodplants for micromoths, and fruiting heads (especially the large, egg-shaped ones of D. fullonum) a winter store of seeds for goldfinches and a hideway for spiders and other invertebrates which wrens and tits will search for.