And then there's Foxglove

And then there's Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), which isn't a wildflower at all, and definitely not native to North America. But it's so beautiful, and it certainly grows like a wildflower in western North America, in the Pacific region. It must drive the native wildflower enthusiasts mad; it certainly annoys me at times, particularly during my wildflower forays, watching roadsides for splashes of color that might be a lupine or a penstemon or a paintbrush or a larkspur, only to find hillsides covered with these botanical monuments to texture and form and color and sheer beauty. And try as I might to ignore it, it won't let itself get ignored. I mean, have you ever tried to ignore Charleze Theron, or Brad Pitt? And who, in their right mind, is going to consider either of those attractive people an invasive species?

It can't be done.

Foxglove is a member of one of our loveliest families, the Figwort, or Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae). We get all our speedwells and paintbrushes and monkeyflowers and owl's clovers and penstemons from that family, so it comes from good lineage.

It is native to Europe. It grows up to 7' tall ... have you ever seen a 7' tall Foxglove, its tall stalk top-heavy with flowers? It is quite a sight. The flowers, the tubes of color, range in hue from to white to shades of pink to rosy-lavender, the insides of which are spotted with red to maroon freckles. It typically grows - as a wildflower - in disturbed places, along roadsides, and in most other available open spaces. It blooms in the summer, usually during the first half of the season, but we had it in bloom in Soda Springs, CA in September.

It does occasionally turn up as a wildflower in the east, but mostly it thrives mostly west of the Cascades and the Sierra Nevadas.

As most of us know, Foxglove contains digitalis, which is a heart stimulant, and is used in many, if not most types of heart disease. It is also deadly toxic.

Foxglove has been as prominent in magic and fairy lore as it is along green, wet Pacific Northwest roadsides. Fairies have been known to use the blossoms as gloves, or to wear them as hats. Also, it protects the gardens it grows in, as well as the home; crossed lines painted on cottage floors with the black dye that comes from Foxglove were believed to keep evil out.

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