Dipsacus fullonum

Also known as Fuller's Teasel, Wild Teazel, Venus' Cup, Indian Teasel

Wild teasel is a striking biennial herb recognizable by its tall, spiny stems and cone-like, egg-shaped flower heads surrounded by long, upward-curving spiny bracts. In its first year, it forms a flat rosette of spiky leaves before sending up a towering flowering stalk in its second summer that bears ring-like bands of tiny lavender blossoms. The paired, perfoliate leaves fuse around the stem to form deep cups that collect rainwater, trapping crawling insects and serving as a natural obstacle against herbivores.