Foxglove

Foxglove

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foxglove - whole plant

Common name: Foxglove

Scientific name: Digitalis purpurea

Hazard associated: All parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested.

Notes: foxglove-closeup

  • Grown in gardens for its attractive flowers. Cultivars have been developed by plant breeders, so there are variations in colours and markings in the flower throat.
  • The leaves contain digitoxin, digoxin and saponins.
  • The plant has been used in traditional medicine, but has a narrow margin of error in terms of dosage control.
  • Poisonings by foxglove have occurred when people have drunk herbal tea containing foxglove leaves.

 

 Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis

Image credits:

“Vallée du Marcadau 33” by Guérin Nicolas (messages) – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vall%C3%A9e_du_Marcadau_33.JPG#/media/File:Vall%C3%A9e_du_Marcadau_33.JPG