Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Seriously poisonous — do not eat it.
If someone has eaten it, call emergency services or your poison control centre.
Dangerous to: cattle, horses, dogs, cats
If an animal has eaten this, call your vet.
Tall spires of tubular flowers in purple, pink, and white. A cottage garden classic and important medicinal plant. All parts are highly toxic if ingested.
The story
Used in European folk medicine for centuries, foxglove gave us digitalis — still one of the most important cardiac medications. The name derives from Old English "foxes glofa" (fox's glove).
- Origin
- Western Europe, United Kingdom
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
The wider story
Hailing from the temperate regions of Europe, the common foxglove has woven itself into both gardens and history. Known scientifically as Digitalis purpurea, this member of the plantain family has naturalized far beyond its native home, spreading into parts of North America. It has long been cultivated by humans, serving both as a beloved ornamental garden subject and as the crucial botanical source for the heart medicine digoxin.
Sources: Grangery, Gbif, en.wikipedia.org
About
...
At a glance
What it needs
Water
Regular
USDA hardiness
Zones 4–9
Days to maturity
365 days
Ecology
How it lives
- Propagated by
- Seed
Known as
Names around the world
- de
- Fingerhut
- en
- Foxglove, Witch's Gloves, Dead Man's Bells
- fr
- Digitale
Full detailsevery field on the record, to copy
- Name
- Foxglove
- Slug
- foxglove
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Genus
- Digitalis
- Species
- purpurea
- Category
- Flower
- Hardiness zone (min)
- 4
- Hardiness zone (max)
- 9
- Sunlight
- Partial Shade
- Water needs
- Regular
- Days to maturity
- 365
- Germination rate
- 75%
- Propagule type
- seed
- Pollination type
- Open-pollinated
- Origin country
- United Kingdom
- Origin region
- Western Europe
- Container suitable
- No
- Indoor suitable
- No
- OSSI pledged
- No
- Hazard level
- 4
- Data completeness
- 73
Generated sections & citations
summaryinaturalist
fun_facts_kidsllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_purpurea
fun_facts_adultllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- gbif (taxonomy)
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_purpurea
storyllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- sprigloom (common_name)
- gbif (taxonomy)
- gbif (taxonomy)
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_purpurea
how_to_usellm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_purpurea
gardening_tipllm_gemini · confidence 1.00
- wikipedia (description.summary) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis_purpurea