The long dark taproot (highest in pyrrolizidine alkaloids), growing up to 6 feet long, can be harvested in the spring or fall, and if any root remnants are left behind, another comfrey plant most likely will spring up.ĭried root as a salve, fresh or dried as root a poultice. Early spring harvests reveal the highest alkaloid content and leaves harvested later in the season having much smaller amounts. It is important to note that the pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of the leaf varies throughout the season. The leaves and buds are best harvested when the flowers just start to bud. This herb has been utilized in folk medicine throughout Europe and North America and has been widely cultivated as a garden medicinal specifically for its reputation for healing various internal and external wounds. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places, and is locally frequent throughout Ireland and Britain on river banks and ditches.Ĭomfrey root and leaf have been used since Roman times, dating back thousands of years. Large, pointed, hairy, ovate-lanceolate, dark green basal leaves grow to 8 long. It is used as a fertilizer and as an herbal medicine.Ĭomfrey is a perennial herb of the family Boraginaceae with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped flowers of various colours, typically cream or purplish, which may be striped. Symphytum officinale, commonly called comfrey, is a large, coarse, tuberous-rooted, clumping perennial (to 3’ tall and 2.5’ wide) that is primarily grown today as an ornamental for its attractive foliage and spring flowers. Comfrey species are important herbs in organic gardening.

Comfrey, Symphytum Officinale,Medicinal Seeds, 4in potted plant, Organic, GMO Free, Comphrey, Organic Heirloom Medicinal Plants, OrganicĬomfrey (also comphrey) is a common name for plants in the genus Symphytum.

Comfrey symphytum officinale plants