Comfrey History

Comfrey is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Symphytum, belonging to the family Boraginaceae (borage, forget-me). Fondness mainly damp places, it is native to Europe and western Asia (Turkey, Hungary, Caucasus, Georgia, Iran).

The French name "comfrey" comes from the capacity of this plant to accelerate fracture healing due to its allantoin content. It was also once used for this very purpose.

History

Known since antiquity as medicinal plants, comfrey have been propagated along the major roads of Europe by pilgrims and travelers. In vogue in the nineteenth century in England, they had a craze since the 1960s in the United States and elsewhere for their therapeutic value and for the garden.

Finally, horticulturists have developed ornamental varieties in order to obtain effects of massive interest. We can meet with comfrey in nature, but also in gardens, near dwellings, or escaped from cultivation to roadsides.

General Description

The leaves are thick and hairy, slender and rough to the touch, backed by a solid stalk. The fleshy roots are usually according to age, brown to black on the outside and white inside. Some varieties have roots whose size can reach 180 cm.

Amidst the cluster of emerging leaves of flowering stems trimmed with bells vary in color depending on the variety. The stems often winged (wings of the petioles extending along the stem)

The corolla is formed by five petals together. The sepals and stamens also among five, gave birth to four black seeds (achenes or nutlets)

Flower buds are held spiral wound and often change color as and when they are flowering, the use of insect pollinators. Similarly, the tip of the corolla is more colorful, as if to indicate the entrance. The flowers are indeed very honey, although all insects are not able to pollinate.

They must force a double bottom in the corolla before it can reach the nectar! It is not uncommon to see the drones nibbling the outside wall with their mandibles, providing passage to other insects attracted by the powerful scent alone perceptible ... This explains why sometimes the seeds (nutlets) are not very many. The seeds appear only rarely on hybrids (sterility or difficulty of pollination?)


Source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consoude

See Also: International Flower Delivery, Florist