Foxglove, dedalera

Description:

Herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant 1 to 2 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 10-35 cm long and 5-12 cm broad, and are covered with gray-white pubescent and glandular hairs, imparting a woolly texture. The foliage forms a tight rosette at ground level in the first year. The flowers are arranged in a showy, terminal, elongated cluster, and each flower is tubular and pendent. The flowers are typically purple. The inside surface of the flower tube is heavily spotted. The flowering period is early summer, sometimes with additional flower stems developing later in the season. The plant is frequented by bees, which climb right inside the flower tube to gain the nectar within. The fruit is a capsule which splits open at maturity to release the numerous tiny (0.1-0.2 mm) seeds. Due to the presence of the cardiac glycoside digitoxin, the leaves, flowers and seeds of this plant are all poisonous to humans and some animals and can be fatal if eaten. Extracted from the leaves, this same compound is used as a medication for heart failure.

Habitat:

Spotted at the margins of a local road