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Boraginaceae
Comfrey
Symphytum officinale
Healing, knitting, ancient remedy.
- Family
- Boraginaceae
- Genus
- Symphytum
- Native to
- Europe, Western Asia
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- Perennial
- Height
- 60–120 cm (2–4 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 3–9
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Comfrey was so famous as a wound-healing herb that its old name was 'knitbone' or 'boneset'—medieval surgeons wrapped broken limbs in comfrey poultices, and the herb actually contains allantoin, which speeds tissue healing.
- The genus name 'Symphytum' comes from the Greek for 'grow together'—a literal description of its supposed power to knit broken bones.
- Comfrey has the deepest roots of any common garden herb—up to 8 feet down into subsoil—where it mines minerals other plants can't reach and stores them in its leaves.
- Modern organic gardeners use comfrey as a 'living fertilizer'—chopped leaves are layered into compost or steeped in water to make a high-potassium liquid feed for tomatoes and roses.
- Despite its healing reputation, comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can damage the liver—it's no longer recommended for internal use, but external poultices remain a beloved folk remedy.
Color meanings
0
healing
1
binding
2
ancient remedy