Wild Teasel is a beautiful pale purple thistle type plant which grows around the beaches of Ballyyahoo.
This plant is a particular favourite of Ballyyahooians because it attracts bumblebees as well as a variety of birds who love to feed on the seed heads.
Biddy, the Witch of Ballyyahoo, encourages teasel to grow in her garden because she loves to see the birds flocking to feed on the seeds in the Autumn.
She also keeps a bird table and in winter when berries and worms are hard to find. Biddy leaves food out so the birds don’t starve. She may be a witch but she’s definitely a kind witch!
WILD TEASEL AND BEES
Wild teasel is rich in nectar and both butterflies and bees can often be seen perched on the beautiful soft velvet flowers.
In the summer it’s rare to see a wild teasel plant that doesn’t have a bumble bee buzzing around it.
Another reason it is so loved by these creatures is that its leaves collect water.
This makes the teasel into a little watering hole for wildlife.
The plant itself has a Latin name Dipsacus Fullonum and it is a biennial plant which means it lives for two years.
You can learn more about biennial plants here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biennial_plant
If you would like to learn about the creatures of Ballyyahoo click here.
I hope you enjoyed reading about nature in Ballyyahoo. All the stories and photographs on this site are free because the aim of Ballyyahoo is to encourage children to get outdoors and enjoy the fun of nature and wildlife.
If you and your children enjoy the site you might like to help support Ballyyahoo. To do this please like, share and comment or even better you could buy your child a Ballyyahoo book.
Maggie Many Cats and Other Stories is the complete collection of Ballyyahoo stories.
Comments are closed.