Foxglove
The flowers of the Foxglove are so flashy, that everyone who has seen a Foxglove will remember it.
Usually you can see it in gardens because it is very beautiful, but sometimes you can find it wild growing in sunny places of forrests.
The Foxglove is very poisonous but as it is a strong remedy for weak hearts it is used very often by the medicine to strengthen the heart.
In the natural medicine the Foxglove isn't used because it is too dangerous.
But you could use it as a homeopathic remedy.
Medicinal Uses
Beware! Very Poisonous. Use Foxglove only as a pharmaceutical product or homeopathic.- Weak heart
- Angina Pectoris
- Edemas / dropsy
- strengthening
- Headaches
- Fever
- Gout
- Wounds
- Furuncle
Information
| Used Parts: | Leaves |
| Substances: | Acetylcholine, Cardiac glycoside, Digitoxin, Digoxin, poisonous glycoside, Gitaloxigenin, Saponins |
| Time to collect: | Late Spring |
Methods
|
Beware! Very Poisonous.
Use Foxglove only as a pharmaceutical product or homeopathic. |
Internal use against weak hearts
Because of its poisonous qualitiy the Foxglove is only used to strengthen weal hearts.For all its other possible uses there are other herbs, that are not as poisonous.
Foxglove is used only as a ready made pharmaceutical product prescripted by doctors.
As the therapeutic dose is very close to the lethal dose the use of Foxglove can provoke poisoning symptoms even when used correctly.
The first sign of being poisoned by Foxglove is when you see yellow.
When the poisoning gets stronger you suffer from disorders of the heart rhythm, diarrhoe, nausea, blue lips, problems to breath and heart failure.
When eating the fresh leaves two leaves are enough to kill somebody.
But as the leaves taste bitter, this occures rather seldom.
Plant description
The Foxglove grows in Europe.
It prefers ground without lime and loves to grow in light places of forrests.
The biennial plant produces larges leaves, that grow near the ground, in the first year.
In the second year a long stalk grows up to two meters high.
From june on there are red or sometimes white flowers that blossom along the stalk. The flowers fit over a fingertip, or maybe they can function as a glove for foxes. That is the source of the name of the Foxglove.
