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Plantaginaceae
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Insincerity, magic, ambivalence.
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Genus
- Digitalis
- Native to
- Europe
- Bloom season
- Early Summer
- Type
- biennial or short-lived perennial
- Height
- 90–150 cm
- Sunlight
- Partial shade
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained, acidic
- Water
- Regular
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- Biennial
Did you know
- Foxgloves contain digoxin and digitoxin — cardiac glycosides used to treat heart failure for over 200 years.
- All parts of the plant are highly toxic; ingestion can be fatal.
- English physician William Withering documented foxglove's heart-strengthening effects in 1785 after learning of an old herbal remedy.
- The genus name Digitalis means 'finger-like,' referring to the shape of the flower.
- Folklore says foxes wore the flowers as gloves to silence their paws while raiding chicken coops.