Foxglove
Foxglove
Wildflower
A tall spire of thimble-shaped flowers that is both deadly poisonous and the source of a life-saving heart medicine.
💡 Fun Facts
- Its tall spire is covered in thimble-shaped flowers that bees climb right inside.
- It is poisonous — but the very same chemical became a life-saving medicine for the heart.
- It takes two years to flower: a flat rosette of leaves in year one, then the tall spike in year two.
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:June to July
Name Story
Digitalis purpurea
means “the purple thimble”
What does its name mean?
- Digitalis — thimble (finger)Latin digitus ‘finger’, giving ‘thimble’
- purpurea — purpleLatin purpureus ‘purple’Decode this word →
Each flower is a perfect purple thimble you could almost slip onto a fingertip — which is exactly the picture the name paints.