Digitalis lanata seed
LATIN NAME: DIGITALIS LANATA
COMMON NAME: Grecian Foxglove
The Grecian foxglove brings a statuesque, woolly elegance to the sunny meadow, its tall spikes of pale cream flowers rising above rosettes of grey-green, softly hairy leaves. Each tubular bloom is marked with fine brown veins and covered in a subtle down, giving the whole spike a muted, almost silvery appearance. It grows as a biennial or short-lived perennial, the first year forming a basal rosette and the second sending up flowering stems that can pass a metre. Native to the warm meadows and open slopes of southeastern Europe, it is a plant of the dry, sunny places where the soil is ordinary and well drained. The leaves are the source of some of the most studied cardiac compounds in the plant world, and the whole plant is strongly toxic — it is best grown for the eyes only, never handled carelessly or eaten. It asks for full sun and sharp-draining ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Grecian foxglove holds a distinguished place in pharmaceutical chemistry. Its leaves contain cardiac glycosides, including digoxin and related compounds, that have been intensively studied for their effects on heart function, and the species has been cultivated commercially for drug production. Researchers examine the biosynthesis of these compounds, the factors that affect their concentration in the leaves, and the potential for cell culture to produce them sustainably. Toxicology studies underscore the danger of the plant to humans and livestock, since even small amounts can be fatal. In ecology, botanists track its distribution across the Balkan meadows and its relationships with other foxgloves. Because of its pharmaceutical importance, it remains one of the most thoroughly investigated medicinal plants, with new studies continuing into its chemistry and cultivation. It is a plant to admire from a respectful distance.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Grecian foxglove is a valuable nectar plant for long-tongued bees, which push into the tubular flowers to reach the nectar at the back. Its tall spikes add vertical structure to the wild meadow and the sunny border. Economically, its historical and ongoing value lies in pharmaceutical cultivation, since the leaf compounds have been used in heart medication under strict medical supervision — this is not a home remedy and the plant must never be ingested. Ornamentally, it is grown for its elegant, pale-cream spikes in the herbaceous border and the wild garden. For a grower, it is a striking and conversation-worthy perennial, and for a gardener it brings a soft, silvery presence to the sunny bed. Keep it away from children and pets, and treat every part as poisonous. The fine seeds need light to wake, so scatter them on the surface and press them in lightly.
To grow the Grecian Foxglove from seed, to start the Grecian foxglove, scatter the dust-fine seeds on the surface of moist, gritty compost and press them in lightly without covering, keeping the tray in a bright, warm spot.
scatter the dust-fine seeds on the surface of moist, gritty compost and press them in lightly without covering, and keep the young foxgloves in a bright, warm spot.
LATIN NAME: Digitalis lanata
COMMON NAME: Grecian Foxglove
The Grecian foxglove is a handsome, upright, tall, biennial or perennial herb of the warm meadows, and its fine, narrow, lance-shaped, softly hairy leaves and its tall, upright, dense spikes of the many small, pale-yellow or cream, woolly, tubular flowers with the brown veins have made it a striking and long-known plant of the region. It grows as an upright, tall, biennial or perennial herb, reaching up to one metre or more, with the upright, slender, branching stems bearing the alternate, narrow, lance-shaped, softly hairy leaves and, through the early summer, the tall, upright, dense spikes of the many small, pale-yellow or cream, woolly, tubular flowers with the fine, brownish veins, followed by the small, dry, many-seeded capsules. It is a species of the flowering plant in the plantain family, and it is native to the warm meadows of the eastern and the south-eastern Europe, while it grows in the open, sunny places, and it is known as the Grecian foxglove.
The Grecian foxglove belongs to the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, and it is a species of the upright, tall, biennial or perennial herb, native to the warm meadows of the eastern and the south-eastern Europe, while it grows in the open, sunny places, and it is known as the Grecian foxglove. It is prized for its tall, upright, dense spikes of the many small, pale-yellow, woolly, tubular flowers.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Grecian foxglove has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the chemistry of the natural products and the pharmaceutical science, since the leaves of the Grecian foxglove contain the fine, potent cardiac glycoside compounds, and researchers have examined the plant and its constituents with the greatest care, while the study of the cardiac compounds has drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical press as one of the most important of the plant world, and the plant has been the subject of the finest study across the world. The plant has also been studied in the toxicology, since the leaves of the Grecian foxglove are highly potent, and researchers have examined the plant with the greatest care, while the study of the potent compounds has been of continuing interest, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and is never to be eaten or handled carelessly. The species has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a native of the warm meadows of the eastern and the south-eastern Europe, and its relationships, its distribution and its role in the meadow have been examined, while the ecology of the meadow plants has been of continuing interest, and its fine, narrow, softly hairy leaves have been of interest to the botanists. For a plant of such great importance, the Grecian foxglove has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Grecian foxglove is a handsome plant of the garden. Its tall, upright, dense spikes of the many small, woolly, tubular flowers feed the long-tongued bees, and its fine, upright, leafy growth gives a bold, fine presence to the sunny border and the wild garden.
Its economic value is real. The Grecian foxglove is prized for the great scientific importance of its leaves, and its value has drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical press, while its fine, stately, pale-yellow spikes have made it a notable plant of the garden. The leaves are highly potent and are never to be eaten or used in any home remedy, and the plant is best kept away from the children and the pets. For a grower, the Grecian foxglove is a notable and stately plant, and for a gardener it brings a pale-yellow, woolly-flowered, tall plant to the sunny garden. These fine seeds need light to germinate, so dont bury them — scatter them over moist compost in a tray, press them in gently with your palm, keep the tray damp and out of strong midday sun, and the rosettes will appear without any fuss.
FOXGLOVE IS EASY TO GROW FROM SEEDS. SITUATE IN FULL SUN (IN NORTHERN CLIMATES) OR PARTLY SHADE (IN THE SOUTH). A BIENNIAL, IT WILL NOT BLOOM THE FIRST YEAR. THIS PEARL-GRAY SPECKLED WTH BRONZE TO PURPLE BEAUTY LENDS AN ELEGANT AIR TO ANY GARDEN. THIS CAREFREE (BUT HARD TO FIND) FOXGLOVE IS A GORGEOUS TREASURE. THE STURDY 3 1/2 FOOT STALKS GREET SUMMER WITH HUGE TRUMPETS. SUPURB IN BORDERS, BEDS AND OPEN WOODLAND GARDENS.