Digitalis purpurea – Foxglove, Dedalera, Common foxglove

Description

Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalized in parts of North America, as well as some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin (also called digitalis or digitalin). This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year (it is monocarpic). It generally produces enough seeds so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.

Digitalis purpurea is an herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 10–35 cm (3.9–13.8 in) long and 5–12 cm (2–5 in) broad, and are covered with gray-white pubescent and glandular hairs, imparting a woolly texture. The foliage forms a tight rosette at ground level in the first year.

Digitalis purpurea grows in acidic soils, in partial sunlight to deep shade, in a range of habitats, including open woods, woodland clearings, moorland and heath margins, sea-cliffs, rocky mountain slopes and hedge banks. It is commonly found and readily colonises sites where the ground has been disturbed, such as recently cleared woodland, or where the vegetation has been burnt. It also colonises areas of land that have been disturbed by clear-felling and by construction projects, being among the first wildflowers to reappear, often in large quantities. Foxgloves are eurytopic plants, as their seeds germinate when exposed to light; for this reason, they are generally absent from shaded areas, such as within woodlands.