Photographed by
Debbie Teashon
Foxgloves are a biennial herb, and the source of the heart medication Digitalin. They should be thought of as poisonous, since ingesting them (either accidentally or if trying to use them as a medicinal herb) can be fatal.
Digitalis spreads quite readily by seed, and is a common garden volunteer. The showy flower spikes make it quite welcome in many peoples' gardens, however; and the hummingbirds like to visit the flowers. So a lot of us allow these visitors to stick around, but we keep them in check by not letting them make seed. Foxgloves are fairly easy to dig or pull out.
Okay, this one's a bit of a "gimme"! It definitely qualifies as a weed, but many of us welcome it because it is so pretty and not too ill-behaved. Although it is considered an herb, this weed is definitely NOT edible.
WHAT AM I?
Genus: Digitalis
Species: purpurea
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Common Name: Foxglove
Origin: ?
All contents © Travis Saling
This page was last updated
November 18, 2013
