Foxglove woolly
Foxglove woolly is one of the plants of the family called Noricaceae; in Latin the name of this plant will be as follows: Digitalis lanata Ehrh.
As for the name of the woolly foxglove family itself, in Latin it will be: Scrophulariaceae Juss.
Description of foxglove woolly
Foxglove woolly is a perennial herbaceous plant, the height of which will fluctuate between thirty and eighty centimeters, such a plant will be endowed with a horizontal rhizome. The stems of this plant are single and erect; at the very base they will be slightly erect, and in the lower part such stems will already be bare. The leaves of foxglove woolly are oblong-ovate, usually they will also be pointed, and their length will be about six to twelve centimeters, while the width will be one and a half to three and a half centimeters. The stem leaves of this plant will be lanceolate and they will also be smaller in size. It is noteworthy that by the time flowering begins, the basal and lower stem leaves will die off. The surface of foxglove woolly leaves will be bare, the upper surface is colored green, while the underside is light green. The smell of this plant is very peculiar, but at the same time rather weak. The flowers will be colored in brownish-yellow tones and they are endowed with a spherically swollen corolla; the length of such flowers will be about twenty to thirty millimeters. Such flowers of foxglove woolly will be on glandular pedicels; they will form a rather long, pyramidal and multi-sided dense flower raceme. The inflorescence axis itself, the calyx lobes and bracts of this plant are densely pubescent. The fruit of the foxglove woolly is a cone-shaped and slightly obtuse capsule, the length of which will be about eight to twelve millimeters. The seeds of this plant will be tetrahedral-prismatic in shape, their length will not reach two millimeters, and their width will be equal to half a millimeter.
This plant blooms from June to July, while fruiting begins in July and lasts until September.
Description of the medicinal properties of foxglove woolly
Foxglove possesses valuable medicinal properties, and its leaves are recommended for medicinal purposes. These valuable medicinal properties are attributed to the saponins, phytosterols, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and cardiotonic glycosides found in its leaves. The seeds also contain lanafolein, digitalis verum, and digitalis glycosides.
However, it is important to remember that an overdose of cardiac glycosides will be accompanied by very specific symptoms: vomiting and nausea, ventricular fibrillation, bradycardia, and atrial fibrillation. It is noteworthy that nausea, which often occurs before the cardiac arrhythmia itself, is a symptom of a possible overdose.
It should be noted that digoxin is excreted from the body quite rapidly. Within two days after the last dose, it is almost completely eliminated from the body. This period will determine the long-term potential for side effects.
Preparations based on this plant are recommended for myocarditis, myodegeneration, decompensated heart defects, attacks of paroxysmal tachycardia, as well as heart failure associated with nephritis and hypertension.
