July 2009

According to folklore, the little people of the forest wore these dainty little flowers as gloves, which led to their original name,  “folk’s glove.” Legend also tells of the wee folk mischievously distributing them to foxes to wear on their hen-house raids, enabling their untraceable escapes.

The origin of the wildflower’s scientific name, Digitalis, is a bit more traceable. Because its thimble-size blossoms do fit the human finger quite well, it is based on the Latin word for finger. Yet despite its obvious connection to the hand, it is to the human heart that the beautiful foxglove has more of an impact.

As early as 1785, physicians noted the effect of its dried leaves on heart action. Today the species is grown commercially as the source of Digitalis, a widely used heart drug to normalize an irregular heartbeat, strengthen the force of heart contractions and increase the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat.

Common foxglove         Digitalis purpurea

up to 5 feet

Habitat: shady, well-drained loamy soils

© Tim Herd    photo by Tim Herd