Foxglove Facts
Foxglove Facts
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| Interesting Foxglove Facts: |
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| Foxglove has grayish, hairy stem that can reach 20 to 59 inches in height. |
| Foxglove has oval or lanceolate leaves. They are thick, green and wooly thanks to dense layer of hairs on the bottom side of leaves. Leaves are spirally arranged at the base of the plant. |
| Foxglove produces 20 to 80 purple-pink flowers arranged in the form of long spike. Flowers are tubular and whitish on the inside. Pale area inside the tube is covered with dark purple spots and hairs. |
| Foxglove also produces white flowers, but they are extremely rare in the wild. Artificially created varieties of foxgloves are available in white, creamy, yellow, pink, purple and violet color. |
| Foxglove blooms from June to September. Colorful flowers filled with nectar attract bumblebees, main pollinators of this species. |
| Foxglove produces only leaves during the first year of life. Flowering stem, flowers and seed are produced during the second year. |
| Fruit of foxglove is capsule filled with miniature seed. |
| Foxglove produces around 2 million seed in a lifetime. |
| Name "foxglove" refers to the shape of flowers. They look like gloves for fingers that perfectly fit the paws of foxes and other small animals. |
| Heart-protective properties of foxglove were discovered in the 18th century. Digitoxin and digoxin are toxic substances that are extracted from the plant. They are able to slow down the heart beat and increase the strength of contractions and prevent edema by facilitating removal of the excess water from the body. |
| Modern medicine still uses these compounds in treatment of congestive heart failure. Leaves and seed of foxglove are major source of digitoxin and digoxin that are used for the manufacture of digitalis - commercially available medicine. |
| Foxglove can be also used in treatment of bruises, ulcers, sore throat and as diuretic. |
| Digoxigenin is a type of steroid obtained from the foxglove that has application in medicine. It is used in molecular biology for detection of DNA and RNA molecules. |
| Consumption of even the smallest piece of foxglove may end up fatally for humans. Wild animals are aware of toxins hidden inside this plant and they avoid it. |
| Foxglove is biennial plant, which means that it completes its life cycle in two years. |
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