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Digitalis lutea

Common name:	Yellow Foxglove	Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant are poisonous[7, 65]. The plant is less dangerous that the common foxglove (D. purpurea) since its effects are not cumulative[7].
Range:	Europe.
Habitat:	Woodlands, hedgerows and uncultivated fields on siliceous soils[7].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	4

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	D. lutea var. grandiflora[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Digital Amarilla [E], Straw Foxglove [H,P,L,B], Yellow Foxglove [H], Yuksukotu [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	digitalis = finger like lutea = yellow
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Spain Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m . . It is in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 4/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cardiac Diuretic Stimulant Tonic.

Yellow foxglove is little used in herbal medicine but is in fact a less toxic alternative to the purple and woolly foxgloves (D. purpurea and D. lanata) which are widely used in the treatment of heart complaints[254]. The yellow foxglove has similar medical actions, but its alkaloids are more readily metabolized and flushed out of the body[254].
The leaves are cardiac, strongly diuretic, stimulant and tonic[7, 9, 46, 61]. They are used in the treatment of a weakened or failing heart, increasing the strength of contraction, slowing and steadying the heart rate and lowering blood pressure by strongly stimulating the flow of urine - which reduces overall blood volume[254]. The leaves of plants in their second year of growth are harvested in the summer and dried for later use[7]. This remedy should be used with caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner, excessive doses can prove fatal[7, 254]. See also the notes above on toxicity.

Other Uses

Preservative.

An infusion of the plant added to the water in the vase will prolong the life of cut flowers[54]. When grown near root crops the roots will store better[54].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in ordinary garden soil, especially if it is rich in organic matter[1]. It also succeeds in dry soils and, once established, is drought tolerant[188, 190]. It prefers semi-shade but succeeds in full sun if the soil is moist[188, 200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].
The yellow foxglove is a good companion plant, stimulating the growth of nearby plants[54]. Root crops grown near to this plant will store better[54].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow early spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 20° c[175]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Scrophulariaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[175] Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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