This plant is a magnet to finches, particularly Goldfinch, which are adapted to eating seeds of teasels, thistles and similiar plants. A tall thin plant that is found on roadsides, waste places, meadows, sheltered hillsdides and grazed areas. It is often grown in gardens and often escapes. The flowers emerge in two bands at opposite ends of the flower head and spread to meet each other in the middle. A biennial, in bloom from july to august.