Digitalis purpurea
| Digitalis purpurea | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Life Cycle: | Biennial |
| Height: | 4' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Digitalis purpurea (common name: 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.
If you have sufficient seed it can be sown outdoors in situ in the spring or autumn.
Cultivation: Easily grown in ordinary garden soil, especially if it is rich in organic matter[2]. Prefers a light dry soil in semi-shade[3] but succeeds in full sun if the soil is moist[4]. Grows well in acid soils[3].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[5].
The foxglove is a very ornamental plant that is easily naturalized in the semi-shade of a woodland[2]. It contains glycosides and forms the basis of an important heart medicine for which it is cultivated commercially[6]. This species is commonly used by herbalists, whereas D. lanata is more commonly grown for supplying the pharmaceutical industry[7]. The plant contains much greater concentrations of the medically active ingredients when it is grown in a sunny position[8].
The flowers are very attractive to bees[6][9]. Individual plants can produce up to 2 million seeds[6].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[10].
A good companion plant, it stimulates the growth of nearby plants, growing well with pine trees[11][12][13].
Range: Western Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain and Sardinia.
Habitat: Acid soils in woods, heaths, mountain grasslands etc[14][3].
Medicinal: The foxglove is a widely used herbal medicine with a recognised stimulatory effect upon the heart. It is also used in allopathic medicine in the treatment of heart complaints. It has a profound tonic effect upon a diseased heart, enabling the heart to beat more slowly, powerfully and regularly without requiring more oxygen[15]. At the same time it stimulates the flow of urine which lowers the volume of the blood and lessens the load on the heart[15]. 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[15].
The leaves are cardiac, diuretic, stimulant and tonic[6][14][16][17][18]. 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[6]. Harvested at other times, there is less of the medically active alkaloid present[6]. The seed has also been used in the past[6]. 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[6]. Great care should be exercised in the use of this plant, the therapeutic dose is very close to the lethal dose[19]. See also the notes above on toxicity.
A homeopathic remedy is made from the leaves[14]. It is used in the treatment of cardiac disorders[14].
Usage: An infusion of the plant prolongs the life of cut flowers[13]. Root crops growing near this plant store better[13].
An apple-green dye is obtained from the flowers[20].
Pollinators: Bees
Habit: Biennial
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: All parts of the plant are highly poisonous[14][21][22][23][24][19].
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Baines, Chris. Making a Wildlife Garden.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Hatfield, Audrey. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd, 1974.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Altmann, Horst. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus, 1980.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.
- ↑ Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.