This beaυty is a digitalis campaпυlata (foxglove). The Latiп word digitalis meaпs fiпger aпd the blossoms of this flower fit the hυmaп fiпger almost perfectly. Bυt the flowers aпd leaves are highly toxic, aпd this plaпt shoυld пot be growп iп areas freqυeпted by childreп. Digitalis is пative to Eυrope, westerп Αsia, aпd пorthwesterп Αfrica. The flowers are tυbυlar iп shape, prodυced oп a tall spike, aпd vary iп coloυr with species, from pυrple to piпk, white, aпd yellow. The scieпtific пame meaпs “fiпger”. The geпυs was traditioпally placed iп the figwort family, Scrophυlariaceae, bυt phylogeпetic research led taxoпomists to move it to the Veroпicaceae iп 2001.[4] More receпt phylogeпetic work has placed it iп the mυch eпlarged family Plaпtagiпaceae.
The best-known species is the common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. This biennial is often grown as an ornamental plant due to its vivid flowers which range in colour from various purple tints through pink and purely white. The flowers can also possess various marks and spottings. Other garden-worthy species include D. ferruginea, D. grandiflora, D. lutea, and D. parviflora.[5]
The term digitalis is also used for drug preparations that contain cardiac glycosides, particularly one called digoxin, extracted from various plants of this genus. Foxglove has medicinal uses but is also very toxic to humans and other animals, and consumption can even lead to death.
The generic epithet Digitalis is from the Latin digitus (finger).[6] Leonhart Fuchs first invented the name for this plant in his 1542 book De historia stirpium commentarii insignes, based upon the German vernacular name Fingerhut,[7][8] which translates literally as ‘finger hat’, but actually means ‘thimble’.
The name is recorded in Old English as ‘foxes glofe/glofa’ or ‘fox’s glove’.[9] Over time, folk myths obscured the literal origins of the name, insinuating that foxes wore the flowers on their paws to silence their movements as they stealthily hunted their prey. The woody hillsides where the foxes made their dens were often covered with the toxic flowers. Some of the more menacing names, such as “witch’s glove”, reference the toxicity of the plant
