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Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
This stately garden favorite is a biennial (usually, but can be perennial)
in temperate regions. It carries 3 to 5 foot tall spikes of tubular,
bell-shaped flowers in pink shades in early summer. The large, downy,
mid-green leaves have indented or scalloped edges, not to be mistaken for
Comfrey‘s leaves. Foxglove is happy growing in near full sun to part shade,
in acid, well-drained, even rocky soil. They do require some watering in dry
weather for the sake of keeping the flowers. Make sure to cut off the
central spike of flower once it is spent, as this will increase the size of
the flowers of the side shoots. Medicine ~~Certain parts of Foxglove are
used as a powerful heart medicine, and have been for about 220 years. And
because it is a powerful diuretic as well, it helps cure the symptoms of
congestive heart failure. There is a synthetic form of its medicinal
phytochemicals, yet the plant is still grown commercially for the drug
industry. Foxglove’s constituents can accumulate in the body and lead to
poisoning. There are other, much safer herbs which can help nourish and heal
the heart and assist it in its important work, such as Lily of the Valley
and Hawthorn.
CAUTION: Foxglove should only
be used when under the close supervision of an extremely knowledgeable and
experienced Herbalist.
CAUTION: Foxglove must NEVER
be consumed (eaten), nor should it be used domestically in any way, because
its action is too strong, and is considered to be poisonous.
CAUTION: There are marked
dangers with the use of Foxglove.
(some information obtained from "The Complete Book of Herbs“,
by Leslie Bremness, and from "Holistic Herbal" by David Hoffmann)
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