Foxglove  (Digitalis purpurea)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

The foxglove is a familiar tall herb that produces 20-80 nodding flowers on a long spike, known as a raceme(2). The tube-like flowers are pinkish-purple in colour, with an area of white inside the tube, which features darker purple spots and a few hairs. More rarely, white flowers may appear (2). The greyish stem is woolly, and the green, oval or lance-shaped leaves have downy upper surfaces, but are woolly below (2). The common name derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'foxes glofa' meaning foxes gloves, and refers to the tubular flowers, which are suggestive of the gloves of a small animal. The flowers were also known as 'witches' thimbles’ by Medieval herbalists (4).

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