Digitalis purpurea L.

Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalized in parts of North America, as well as some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin. This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year. It generally produces enough seeds so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.

Source: Wikipedia

Synonyms 45

Digitalis alba, Digitalis amandiana, Digitalis carnea, Digitalis gloxinioides, Digitalis gyspergerae, Digitalis libertiana, Digitalis mauritanica, Digitalis media, Digitalis miniana, Digitalis nevadensis, Digitalis purpurascens, Digitalis speciosa, Digitalis tomentosa, Digitalis purpurea subsp. amandiana, Digitalis purpurea subsp. bocquetii, Digitalis purpurea subsp. gyspergerae, Digitalis purpurea subsp. mauretanica, Digitalis purpurea subsp. nevadensis, Digitalis purpurea subsp. toletana, Digitalis purpurascens var. intermedia, Digitalis purpurea var. alba, Digitalis purpurea var. alba-maculata, Digitalis purpurea var. albiflora, Digitalis purpurea var. bifida, Digitalis purpurea var. carnea, Digitalis purpurea var. emarginata, Digitalis purpurea var. gloxiniflora, Digitalis purpurea var. gyspergerae, Digitalis purpurea var. humilis, Digitalis purpurea var. maculata, Digitalis purpurea var. mauretanica, Digitalis purpurea var. miniana, Digitalis purpurea var. nevadensis, Digitalis purpurea var. parviflora, Digitalis purpurea var. porrecta, Digitalis purpurea var. rosea, Digitalis purpurea var. toletana, Digitalis purpurea var. tomentosa, Digitalis purpurea var. valida, Digitalis thapsi var. intermedia, Digitalis purpurea f. alba, Digitalis purpurea f. alpina, Digitalis purpurea f. carnea, Digitalis purpurea f. humilis, Digitalis purpurea f. parviflora

558,685 GBIF occurrences
108,912 iNaturalist observations

Conservation status code

Conservation: status label

Least Concern

Conservation: population trend

Stable

Conservation: year assessed

2026

IUCN Red List page

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/203383/209211625

Habitats

IUCN: population narrative

This is a very common species within much of its range and it is inferred that the population is large and relatively stable.

IUCN: habitat narrative

This erect biennial or short-lived perennial grows to an average of one metre in height. It flowers generally between June and September, and the flowers are pollinated by bees. It grows in open places, especially woodland clearings, hedges, sea cliffs, heaths and mountainsides, on waste ground, disturbed sites and as a pioneer in burnt areas. It is often found on acid soils but is also found on calcareous soils (Polunin 1969, Stace 1997, BSBI 2024).

IUCN: threats narrative

Although habitat loss as a result of human activity is a generalized threat, there are not thought to be any significant ongoing threats to this species in its main native range and none are envisaged in the near future.

IUCN: conservation narrative

The species is represented by 228 germplasm accessions held at European institutions (EURISCO 2024), and is included in the living collection of at least 177 botanical gardens (BGCI 2024). It occurs in many protected areas, including Natura 2000 sites (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2024, GBIF.org 2024).

IUCN: rationale

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)This is a widespread and common species, and no significant declines have been identified. The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO) and population all exceed the values for a threatened category. It is assessed as Least Concern for both the European region and the EU27 Member States.

Digitalis purpurea L.

Related species

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