WSU Clark County Extension
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Common Foxglove

Scientific name: Digitalis purpurea
Taxonomy
Family:Scrophulariaceae
Type:Herbaceous perennials
Native:NO
Plant Requirements
Zone:3 to 9
Sun:Partial shade
Moisture:Dry
Plant Characteristics
Height:5 ft
Width:1 ft
Bloom:Showy flowers
Additional Characteristics
Trees


Fruit

Leaves


Bark
Wildlife value

Poisonous
Description Foxglove is a source of digitalis prescribed by doctors to strengthen the heart and regulate its beat. They are great garden plants for shady borders and woodland gardens.

  Morphology:
Common Foxglove is a short lived perennial in the Pacific Northwest (biennial in colder regions) whose flower stalks can grow to a height of 3’-5’. First year plants, derived from seed, forms a basal rosette of dark green or white-wooly leaves which are 5”-10” long.

During the second year of the plant’s growth, tubular flowers (shaped like fingers of a glove) form on upright flower stalks. Each flower is 2” and can come in a wide array of colors including purple, lavender, pink, yellow, and white. They are also spotted on inside bottom of the tube. Flowers only appear on one side of the stalks and droop downward. Flowers first appear in late spring and last for 4 weeks. In the warmer regions of the Northwest Common Foxglove would continue to send up a new stalk each summer.

  Adaptation:
Foxglove does best in cool climates in moist, acidic, sandy loam soil with abundant organic material. Foxglove does best in partial shade.

All portions of this plant are considered highly poisonous.

  Pests:
None reported.
For assistance, contact Dr. Charles Brun (brunc@wsu.edu), (360) 397-6060 5701
Computing and Web Resources, PO Box 6234, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-6234