Comfrey

(Symphytum officinale)

 

Color Photograph: Wikimedia, photographer unknown

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flowers long and tubular, color varying from white, cream, pink, to purple. Flowers arranged in downward hanging, curled sprays. Stem hairy and winged. Leaves hairy, coarse, with projecting tips and accented veins. Base of leaf flows into the winged stem. Plant 2 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout most of eastern North America except for the southeast. Widely distributed in the northern and western states.

Habitat: Comfrey is a weedy plant found in disturbed habitats such as roadsides, fields, and empty lots.

Flowering period: June to September.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

Similar Species:

The fusion of the leaf bases with the winged stem, and the hanging, curled sprays of flowers easily identify this species.

Similar Species

No Similar Species