The teasel is so called because textile makers used its spiny combs to 'tease' cloth - cleaning it (carding) before spinning and raising the 'nap' or fuzzy surface. It wasn't until the 20th century that they were replaced by metal combs. However, they have proved themselves unsurpassed in finishing cloth that needs a very fine and evenly raised pile such as some hats and on the baize covering used for billiard tables. It is superior because of the small hooked spikes covering the conical flower-heads which have 'give' and bend over irregularities or snags unlike steel brushes which tend to tear through it indiscriminately.
The seeds, which develop inside the flowerheads, attract birds including Goldfinches.
Local names include Barber's brushes, Donkey's thistle, and Venus' basin. The latter refers to the way the leaves join around the stem and hold water and hence also the Roman calling teasel labrum Veneris (lip of Venus).
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