Dipsacaceae, or the teasel family contains 350 species of herbs and shrubs in Europe, Africa and Asia. Some of these have already reached other continents.
The Fuller’s Teasel (Wilde Karde), Dipsacus fullonum, is common here, as in the UK, and is an attractive plant – but do not let it go to seed near your garden!
The Scabious (Skabiosa) is also in the teasel family, as well as the similar Knautia. They can be pretty invasive too.
But I also have another member of this family in my garden – the relatively unknown (here, at least!) Succisella inflexa (Moorabbiss), almost the same as Succisa inflexa.
It starts flowering in July and hangs around till the first frosts. Like Scabious, the bees and butterflies love it…
(Summer Map Butterfly -Landkärtchen – Araschnia levana)
The buds are slightly pink, the flowers icy white, with just a tinge of violet to them.
The common name for the Succisa plants is Devil’s Bit, since the tubers appear to have a bite in them! They are supposedly happiest on damp ground or wet meadows… well, I have three beautiful, healthy plants thriving on dry, well-drained soil in the full sun! However, I should point out that mine is a cultivated specimen: Succisella inflexa “Frosted Pearls”, which differs from the wild ones in that it is a little shorter (about 2ft high), and has longer leaves.
My reasons for loving this plant are:
It is very pretty.
It attracts bees and butterflies.
It is not invasive.
It overwinters with no problem whatsoever.
It tolerates heat and drought.
It likes poor soil.
It needs no attention and is not tempting to snails and slugs.
Have you ever seen this plant before? I’d love to hear if you have!