Comfrey
Symphytum officinale
The story
In the damp, grassy places of Europe, Britain, and Ireland, common comfrey has long been woven into local folklore. Its historical reputation is preserved in its striking traditional names, such as boneset and knitbone, which reflect how people of the past viewed this perennial plant. In other cultures, it has been given names like 'suelda consuelda' in Spanish and 'Beinwell' in German.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, Wikidata
- Family
- Boraginaceae
How to use it
While historically known by names like boneset and knitbone, modern safety guidelines advise caution regarding this plant. Internal or long-term topical use of comfrey is discouraged because it has a strong potential to cause liver toxicity.
Sources: Grangery, Wikidata, en.wikipedia.org
About
Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of Symphytum, it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus Symphytum, this species is known as common comfrey or true comfrey. Other English names include Quaker comfrey, cultivated comfrey, boneset, knitbone, consound, and slippery-root. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places. It is locally frequent throughout Ireland and Britain on...
Ecology
How it lives
- Propagated by
- Seed
Full detailsevery field on the record, to copy
- Name
- Comfrey
- Slug
- comfrey
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Family
- Boraginaceae
- Genus
- Symphytum
- Species
- officinale
- Category
- Herb
- Wikidata QID
- Q157561
- Propagule type
- seed
- Container suitable
- No
- Indoor suitable
- No
- OSSI pledged
- No
- Hazard level
- 1
- Data completeness
- 48
Generated sections & citations
summaryinaturalist
fun_facts_kidsllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- inaturalist (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphytum officinale
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
fun_facts_adultllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- sprigloom (taxonomy)
- sprigloom (taxonomy)
- inaturalist (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphytum officinale
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
storyllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- inaturalist (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphytum officinale
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
how_to_usellm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikidata (common_name)
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphytum_officinale