#52. Foxglove

Scientific Name:

Family Name:

Figwort Family

Habitat:

Moist clearings, fields, roadsides.

Characteristics:

1. Flowers purple towhite with white & purple dots on inside of lower petal. Foxglove flowers are a tubular bell shape, with 5 petals that have been fused together. They tend tobe concentrated on one side of the upper stem, and droop in clusters.

2. The leaves are lance-like to oval, and are mostly basal with some on the lower stem.

3. Foxglove plants grow 2 to 6 feet tall.

Uses or Importances:

1. Foxglove is a pretty flower for gardens. They were originally from the european alps, and were introduced to America during colonial times.

2. The plant juices contain digitalis, a medicine used to slow the heart (something Ben Franklin invented).

3. This is one plant you shouldn't eat, as it's extremely poisonous (it stops the heart!).