Purple foxglove

Family Scrophulariaceae. Folk names: glove herb, wood bell, forest bell. Parts used: leaves (only with standardized, i.e. precisely calibrated, assessment of effect!). Pharmacopoeial name: leaves of purple foxglove - Digitalis purpureae folium (formerly: Folia Digitalis purpureae).

(deadly poisonous!)

Botanical description. This is a biennial plant, however on plantations from which most of the medicinal raw material is obtained it can live longer. From the branching taproot in the first year only a rosette of very large and robust leaves is formed. In the second year an erect unbranched stem elongates (up to 2 m in height), on which alternate leaves are arranged. The shoot tip ends in a one-sided flower raceme. The large flowers have a five-toothed calyx and a two-lipped tubular-bell-shaped purple-red (sometimes white) corolla, spotted inside. Fruit - a two-celled capsule. Flowers from June to September. Foxglove prefers lime-poor mountain woods and is common in Western and Central Europe. It is more often found on clearings. In the Harz this conspicuous and attractive plant is so common that it is depicted in promotional brochures for foreign tourists.

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