Digitalis lanata
| Digitalis lanata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Digitalis lanata (common name: grecian foxglove)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow early spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 20°c[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in ordinary garden soil, especially if it is rich in organic matter[2]. It prefers a neutral to acid soil[3] and also succeeds in dry soils and, once established, is drought tolerant[4][5]. It prefers semi-shade but succeeds in full sun if the soil is moist[4][6].
The Grecian foxglove is cultivated for the medicinally active glycosides that are contained in the leaves[3]. This species is preferred over D. purpurea as a source of glycosides for the pharmaceutical industry[3].
Plants are either biennial or short-lived perennials[3].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[7].
This species can develop crown rot and root rot when growing in damp conditions[3].
Range: E. Europe.
Habitat: Woods and scrub[8].
Medicinal: The Grecian foxglove is a widely used herbal medicine with a recognised stimulatory effect upon the heart. It is also used in allopathic medicine as the main source of the cardiac glycosides that are used in the treatment of heart complaints[3][9]. It has a profound tonic effect upon a diseased heart, enabling the heart to beat more slowly, powerfully and regularly without requiring more oxygen[9]. At the same time it stimulates the flow of urine which lowers the volume of the blood and lessens the load on the heart[9]. The plant contains cardiac glycosides (including digoxin, digitoxin and lanatosides). Digitoxin rapidly strengthens the heartbeat but is excreted very slowly. Digoxin is therefore preferred as a long-term medication[9].
The leaves are cardiac, diuretic, stimulant and tonic[10][11][12][13][14]. The leaves should only be harvested from plants in their second year of growth, picked when the flowering spike has grown and about two thirds of the flowers have opened[10]. Harvested at other times, there is less of the medically active alkaloid present[10]. The seed has also been used in the past[10]. The leaves also have a very beneficial effect on the kidneys, they are strongly diuretic and are used with benefit in the treatment of dropsy[10]. Great care should be exercised in the use of this plant, the therapeutic dose is very close to the lethal dose[15]. Their use should always be supervised by a qualified practitioner since in excess they cause nausea, vomiting, slow pulse, visual disturbance, anorexia and fainting[3]. See also the notes above on toxicity.
A homeopathic remedy is made from the leaves[11]. It is used in the treatment of cardiac disorders[11].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: All parts of the plant are poisonous[16][17].
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.