![]() It is a native of Eurasia, brought to North America by the early settlers from Europe. Mostly absent also in the great plains states. Comfrey is found in most of North America except the far north Canadian Provinces and the far south states of the U.S. It has not been recorded on any Garden census and is currently absent from the Garden. Notes: Comfrey has made its appearance in the Garden in the 1990s up through at least 2005 when it was mentioned in a Naturalists' report it was found in the Woodland Garden along Lady-slipper Lane in the Marsh. "Asses' Ears" refers the large soft lower leaves. All the various alternate common names have reference to the medicinal uses of the plant in old medicine. The author name for the plant classification - 'L.' is for Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), Swedish botanist and the developer of the binomial nomenclature of modern taxonomy. The species officinale usually means 'sold in shops' referring to the use of this plant in herbal medicine. From those terms you may derive the meaning of healing broken bones - one of the former herbal uses of the plant tissue. The genus Symphytum is from the two Greek words - symphyo, meaning 'make to grow together' and phyton, meaning 'plant'. Names: The common name is from the Latin conferva meaning knitting together, referring to the plants medicinal qualities. When planted it needs plenty of moisture when young, rich soils, and does best under tree shade. In the wild it has escaped from cultivation and will generally be found in disturbed sites. Habitat: Comfrey grows from large coarse spindle shaped tuberous roots that have a black outer coating and produce a stout deep taproot. Toxicity and medicinal use - parts of the plant are toxic - see notes at page bottom. Seed: Flowers that are fertile produce 4 brownish-black nutlets that are nearly smooth, angled on two sides with a concave base. There are 5 stamens which cluster together at their tops around the single style. The flowers are perfect but frequently the ovary is sterile. The five lobe tips of the corolla are very short and spreading. The color is whitish with tones of purple to pink. The entire calyx is much shorter than the corolla which is tube shaped, about 1/2 inch long with a distinct waistband where the upper section is a little more inflated. The individual flowers have stalks with spreading hairs, leading to a green hairy calyx that has 5 lance-shaped pointed lobes. These cymes are usually in pairs and the curve is said to resemble a scorpion's tail. The inflorescence is a leafless curving branched cluster (a cyme) which is terminal and can also arise from the upper leaf axils. Margins are without teeth and the veins have a distinctive net pattern. Leaves are thick and rough, fine hair on both surfaces with longer hair on the underside veins, the margins and the leaf stalks dark green surface on top, paler on the underside. The wings of the stalks continue down the stem creating the wing on the stem. Leaves decrease in size up the stem the very upper leaves may be stalkless. The lower basal leaves are broad and up to 8 inches long, ovate-lanceolate in shape with pointed tips and a base that tapers to a winged stalk. ![]() This is probably going to be the best approach.especially if I advertise free "you dig" comfrey.Comfrey is an introduced erect perennial herb, growing on hairy winged branching hollow stems from one to three+ feet high. Start fresh beds for propagation new and keep better track of my plants for sale. I'm wondering if I just begin the process of digging and moving it all over the property now. This comes from +20 years experience in the green industry - but I can't propagate and sell from this bed. ![]() Personally - the differences I can see between Bocking 4 and 14 are negligible. Pure speculation, but it may be possible the plants are just showing different expressions from the different microclimates? It has been in the ground for over 5 years. I was told by the person who planted it that it all is blocking 14. ![]() Do you have any idea if it's bocking 4, 14 or officinale? The leaves on your white variety look different than mine. And a second white one popped up between two apples trees. Right smack in the patch of blue and pink flowered plants. ![]() Brian Jeffrey wrote:This year I have a clump of white flowered comfrey. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |