What are they?

What are they?

Strange-looking things growing in a front garden. I thought they were fungi, but on closer inspection they are plants. Identified by iNaturalist as western wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) but I’m not convinced.

Spiky flowers: teazle

Spiky flowers: teazle

The entire superstructures of the (tall, tall) plants are covered in defensive spikes. Those on the flowers are long, and end in a hook. They are designed to catch in fur or feathers once the seeds have ripened, to get the seeds away from the parent plant.

Once upon a time, teazles were used as combs to clean raw wool. Later, they were the inspiration behind the invention of Velcro (TM).