The Dipsacaceae or teasel  family is native to most temperate areas of the Old World and centered in the Mediterran- ean region but extending from the Canary Islands to Asia and southward to South Africa. It contains about 250 species in 10 genera, and according to APG II is placed in the order Dipsacales with the honeysuckle and valerian families. Scabiosa is another familiar genus. Family members are primarily herbaceous with some low shrubs. The leaves are opposite or in a basal rosette, and the flowers are in dense involucrate and bracteolate heads, the calyx 4- or 5-merous and often represented by five or up to ten pappus-like bristles, and the corolla is tubular or trumpet-shaped with 4 or 5 lobes either regular or 2-lipped. The receptacle in Dipsacus is elongated. Inflorescence and calyx characters are strikingly variant probably due to dispersal mechanisms of the indehiscent fruits.