Comfrey - WEMPlapedia, the wild edible and medicinal plant encyclopedia

Symphytum officinale

Boraginaceae

Edible Uses

Leaf

The tender leaves can be consumed raw, as a salad. The older leaves are better cooked as a vegetable dish or soup or they can dipped into batter and fried. The fried comfrey leaves taste special, and are rich in nutrient. Attention, consume moderately as the alkaloids are hepatotoxic when consumed in large quantities.

Flower

The flowers suit well for salads.

Medicinal Uses

A tincture can be prepared from the dug up, washed, intact rhizome. In order to avoid rhizome oxidation during preparation, prepare a bottle with alcohol in advance. Cut the rhizome into cubes and put them quickly into the bottle. When the surface browns, it loses a lot of the active substances. The externally applied tincture has wound-healing effect, it relieve joint pain, and bruises. A pulp can be made of the fresh rhizome, that has the same effect as the tincture when applied externally as soon as prepared. The rhizome can also be dried, and used to make a concoction to compress joint pains.

Main Characteristics

Comfrey is a 10-90 cm tall, perennial plant. His stems and leaves are hairy. The stem is hollow. The leaves are stout, strong midrib bulges on the backside. The leaves forming a rosette are huge, those found on the stem are smaller. These latter are organized alternately. The flower color can be from white to violet. The flowers are bell-shaped, leaning downwards in a monochasium inflorescence.

Habitats

Lawn

River or stream bank

Waterland

Weed associations

Harvesting aid

Leaf

April, August, July, June, March, May

Both leaves of the rosette and the leaves on the stems can be gathered.

December, February, January, March, November, October

The rhizome can be harvested for medical purposes after the plant has been lost all of her leaves. As there is no trace of the rhizome, you need to mark the plant location before late autumn with a stick. Carefully dig up the rhizome with a spade. If damaged, it loses its healing potential. Wash it carefully to avoid any surfacial injury. The rhizome is dark brown or black outside, and white and slimy inside.

Flower

August, July, June, May

The open flowers can be gathered.

Confusion with other plants

Symphytum tuberosum

Tuberous comfrey

The two species are very similar. During the flowering period, they can be distinguished by the flower color : tuberous comfrey flowers are yellow, while the comfrey flowers are different colors ranging from white to purple. (It should be noted that the comfrey flowers can be yellow-white, but they are paler than tuberous comfrey's.) The habitat of the two species is also different : while the tuberous comfrey lives more in the forest (hornbeam, beech and oak forest), the commun comfrey likes wet, boggy habitats like.

Digitalis purpurea

Purple foxglove

Before flowering these two species may be confused as the constituent leaves of the rosette are similar. The main difference between the leaf surfaces is that foxglove's leaves are covered with soft and downy hair, while the comfrey's surface is rough, covered with harsh hairy leaves. Attention, this plant is toxic!