Between the self-seeding and root regrowth, comfrey can become invasive. There is a sterile species of comfrey, Symphytum x uplandicum 'Bocking 14', which eliminates the self-seeding problem in the garden. Comfrey is a very fast growing plant.
Comfrey is an herbal supplement used for conditions such as bronchitis, bruises (topical use), cancer, cough (persistent), fractures (topical use), peptic ulcer, rheumatism, skin ulcers (topical use), sprains (topical use), wound healing (topical use), gastritis, ulcers, excessive menstrual flow, and to gargle for gum
Comfrey is a commonly used herbal medicine with a long and proven history in the treatment of various complaints. The root and the leaves are used, the root being more active, and they can be taken internally or used externally as a poultice.
Every home garden should grow comfrey. It's perfect for a small yard, urban farm, and food forest.
It is native to Britain and extends throughout most of Europe into Central Asia and Western Siberia. Wild comfrey was taken to the US by English emigrants.
Comfrey can be planted spring, summer or fall, anytime the soil can be worked. In warmer climates (Deep South and Southwest USA), it can be planted and the leaves harvested throughout the year. Comfrey grows best in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9. But will grow almost anywhere.
A member of the borage family, comfrey - Symphytum spp. is native to Europe and Asia and there are 40 recorded species throughout that region. In the 1950s, Hills developed a comfrey research program in the village of Bocking, near Braintree in the UK.
To connect with Wildflowers of Western Pennsylvania, join Facebook today. COMMON COMFREY: (Symphytum officinale). This European perennial wildflower is a member of the Forget-Me-Not (Boraginaceae) Family and is native to Europe and southwestern Asia. It is now widely naturalized in North America and around the world.
Borage flowers are always blue while comfrey flowers bloom in white, pink and purple. The flowers have different shapes, as well, with comfrey flowers shaped like bells and borage flowers like stars. These two plants come from the same family, however, and look quite similar to each other when they aren't blooming.
Comfrey as a Compost ActivatorCuts of comfrey fresh or wilted can be laid onto the compost heap, layered with the weeds or grass cuttings. Comfrey is so rich that it can be used as if it was manure to activate a slow compost heap. A layer of wilted comfrey can be laid in the trench before planting potatoes.
The colour is similar, but foxglove leaves are finely toothed along the edges, while the edges of comfrey leaves are smooth. Foxglove leaves spring from the root as a clump, while comfrey leaves branch from the stem. Comfrey and foxglove look similar until they blossom.
Common comfrey is a wild-growing herb that has a long tradition as both an edible and a medicinal species. It isn't eaten a lot, as it has a slightly hairy, rough texture as the leaves age, but the young leaves and buds are very tender and delicious in recipes such as Comfrey Leaf Lemonade Fritters.
Common comfrey has large, oval, hairy leaves, and clusters of drooping, tubular flowers that are pinky-purple in colour.
Borage is a somewhat gangly plant, but because the star-shaped flowers are so vibrant, this isn't really noticed. They're brilliant blue, hanging in downward facing clusters. As the plant matures the stalks and leaves become covered with prickly fuzz.
Comfrey is a perennial herb with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped flowers of various colours, typically cream or purplish. Comfrey is a fast growing plant, producing huge amounts of leaf during the growing season, and for that reason is very nitrogen hungry.
7 Best Uses for Comfrey
- Vigorous comfrey plants regrow after greens are harvested for compost or mulch.
- Garlic is tucked in with a double mulch of chopped comfrey and rotted hay.
- A comfrey root poultice can speed healing of sprains and bruises.
- Use dried leaves to make comfrey tea for houseplants.
Comfrey ointments have been used to heal bruises as well as pulled muscles and ligaments, fractures, sprains, strains, and osteoarthritis. In the past, comfrey was also used to treat stomach problems. However, it has toxic substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that damage the liver and can lead to death.
Comfrey has clusters of bell/trumpet shaped flowers that can be white, pink, yellow, blue, red or purple.
Wild Comfrey - Cynoglossum virginianumWild Comfrey (Cynoglossum virginianum) is rare in Florida, found only in Gadsden and Liberty Counties in and around Torreya State Park. Wild comfrey is a perennial herb in the Borage family. It dies to the ground each winter and emerges in the spring.
10 Most useful plants that can be found in the wild
- Wild comfrey.
- Dogwood trees.
- Nettles.
- Cedar trees.
- Rose hips.
- Mullein.
- Yarrow.
- Cattails. These tall grasses can be found throughout the world and are some of the most useful plants in the wild.
Cynoglossum amabile can be fall planted in regions with warm winters. To start the seed indoors, plant it in a flat or individual peat pots 6-8 weeks before the last frost of spring. Keep the soil consistently moist and at a temperature of 70 degrees F until germination. Transplant after the last frost.
a cancer-causing agent. The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday asked makers of dietary supplements containing the herb comfrey to withdraw their products due to the danger of liver damage and its possible role as a cancer-causing agent.
The Merck Veterinary Manual lists comfrey as an especially risky herb because of its pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which have been linked to liver damage. The alkaloids are actually produced by the herb to fend off bugs, but the insecticide can be harmful to a dog.
Most comfrey plants are propagated by root cuttings and do not spread by seed. However, there are a few varieties that are spread by seed. Blocking 14 Russian Comfrey is a variety of comfrey that is sterile and can only be spread through root division.
Comfrey is also a valued companion plant in the garden or orchard. Because of its large, deep root system, it works as a 'bio-accumulator' drawing nutrients up from the soil. Site requirements and cultivation: Native to moist soils, but will grow in sandy, dry soil as well, and will help to improve such poor soil.
You can get rid of comfrey in your garden by using organic acids like acetic acid and citric acid. You can uproot or dig the plant out of the ground and use it in compost, mulch, or liquid fertilizer. Or you can use a chemical like Glyphosate to get rid of the comfrey plant.
Comfrey is high in just about every nutrient a plant needs, including the big three, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and many trace elements. Its high carbon to nitrogen value means that it does not deplete nitrogen from the soil, as it decomposes. It becomes a good source of nitrogen.
In a nutshell. Overall, comfrey is beneficial to all skin types; it helps to moisturise and soothe dry irritated skin, promotes rapid skin-cell growth, contributes to skin renewal, protects against bacteria and other microorganisms, reduces inflammation and helps to keep skin healthy.
While true comfrey can spread easily, Russian comfrey has sterile seed, so it won't take over the garden. Although the Bocking varieties do not proliferate by seed, the plant grows in width and eventually needs to be divided. And that's how you can produce more of these plants for mulch over time!
Great for Dairy AnimalsComfrey is especially good for animals you are milking. It gives does, cows and ewes a nutritional boost. You can even dry it and then feed it to your animals in the winter.
