Purple Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
- Found in India
- Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand & more
How to identify Purple Foxglove
Identify Purple Foxglove by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Tall spike of tubular spotted flowers (foxglove).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Basal.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple.
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- Confirm fruit type: Capsule.
- In India, compare location records such as Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Plantaginaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Purple Foxglove.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Digitalis purpurea
- Genus
- Digitalis
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Found in India
- Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Meghalaya
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- BasalrecordedLeaves cluster at the base of the plant rather than along a stem.“The foliage forms a tight rosette at ground level in the first year.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.“The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 10–35 cm (3.9–13.8 in) long and 5–12 cm (2–5 in) broad, and are covered with gray-white pubescent and glandular hairs, imparting a woolly ” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- TomentoserecordedDensely covered in matted, woolly hairs.“The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 10–35 cm (3.9–13.8 in) long and 5–12 cm (2–5 in) broad, and are covered with gray-white pubescent and glandular hairs, imparting a woolly ” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Purple Foxglove itself; the rest are typical of the Plantaginaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
- Fruit type
- CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.“The fruit is a capsule which splits open at maturity to release the numerous tiny 0.1–0.2 mm seeds.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Purple Foxglove itself; the rest are typical of the Plantaginaceae family — flowering plants only.
About Purple Foxglove
Purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) belongs to the Plantaginaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and 5 other states.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Plantaginaceae
Plantain family
Purple Foxglove belongs to the Plantaginaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Plantaginaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides