💾 Archived View for webdragon.mywire.org › plants › Digitalis-Purpurea.gmi captured on 2022-07-16 at 13:43:19. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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Other name: Lady's glove
Flower colour: Purple
Flowering: May - September
Height: 50 - 150 cm
Active ingredients: Purpurea glycosides A, B and E, digitoxin
Used parts: The dried leaves. (Folium)
Picture of the flowering plant
Foxglove is a plant commonly used as decoration. Though it is also very poisonous. There are not really old uses of the plant, so maybe it was not known to the ancient Greeks. Though it is known that Digitalis purpurea was used by Irish druids, but my book does not tell me what they used it for. It was also used by doctors in Wales in the 13th century, who used the leaves for external medicines. The first known internal use was in the 16th century, where it was boiled in wine as expectorant. Though it had as nasty side effect that people often got poisoned by it. The leaves of the plant were used against skin diseases and ulcers. In the 17th century foxglove was first acknowledged as an official medicine, though it was only during the 18th century that the medical effect on the heart was discovered. Nowadays it is still used for its effect on the heart and its diuretic and sedative effect. Though it is mostly used in very small amounts, because foxglove is highly poisonous. It is also said that Digitalis Purpurea is sometimes used as a antidote to the poison of aconite.
Foxglove is highly poisonous. Every part of this plant is deadly.
For more details, see the Poisonous plants page.
PLEASE NEVER USE FOXGLOVE UNLESS A QUALIFIED DOCTOR SAYS OTHERWISE. EVEN THEN, BE EXTREMELY CAREFULL WITH IT!
