common foxglove

…common, or purple, foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a popular garden ornamental, and numerous hybrids and cultivars have been developed in a range of colours. Other garden species include rusty foxglove (D. ferruginea); yellow foxglove (D. grandiflora); straw, or small yellow, foxglove (D. lutea); and chocolate, or small-flowered, foxglove (D.…

…the dried leaves of the common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and used in medicine to strengthen contractions of the heart muscle. Belonging to a group of drugs called cardiac glycosides, digitalis is most commonly used to restore adequate circulation in patients with congestive heart failure, particularly as caused by atherosclerosis or…

>Digitalis purpurea; Plantaginaceae). Muscle relaxants derived from curare (Strychnos toxifera; Loganiaceae) are used during open-heart surgery.

Digitalis, from purple foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, was introduced into heart therapy in 1785 by the Scottish physician William Withering. The non-cardiac-active saponins include digitonin, which was recognized in digitalis preparations in 1875; and dioscin, the precursor of diosgenin, which is obtained from a Mexican yam.