Symphytum officinale is the scientific name for the common comfrey plant. It thrives in full sunlight but prefers cooler temperatures. Add this plant to your garden by taking a 6- to 12-inch root cutting from an existing plant. Place the cutting in moist, fertile soil as soon as the soil defrosts for optimum yield.
History
Native to Asia and Europe, the comfrey plant has long been used as a healing herb. That's why English immigrants brought the plant to the United States. According to the University of Wisconsin Alternative Field Crops Manual, "comfrey has been cultivated since about 400 B.C." Consumed internally and applied externally, the Greeks and Romans employed the comfrey plant to help patients with heavy bleeding, bronchial ailments, broken bones and slow-healing wounds.
Appearance
The comfrey plant grows wild in more than 33 U.S. states, including the West Coast and the Great Lakes region, according to information presented by the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Database. This herbaceous perennial features big leaves with coarse hairs and produces bell-shaped blossoms in pink, blue, purple and cream, depending on the variety.
Growth
Expect the fast-growing comfrey plant to reach a height of more than 3 feet. It will spring to life in early April and produce abundant foliage from late spring until it's killed off by successive hard frosts. The first flowers should appear a few weeks before the summer solstice. After it blooms, gardeners can harvest the leaves by cutting back the entire plant at the base of the stem. Anticipate your comfrey plant will make a quick come back and flower again. You can harvest several times during the growing season.
Medicinal Use
The leaves and roots of the comfrey plant are harvested for topical medicinal use. You can find them listed as ingredients in some all-natural salves. The active healing component in the leaves and roots of the comfrey plant is allantoin (leaf 13,000ppm, root 6,000-8,000 ppm), which can also be found in mother's milk and in the sap of other plants. According to the University of Maryland, allantoin helps generate new skin cells.
Toxicity
Oral use of the comfrey plant is banned in the United States and Europe. The Food and Drug Administration Poisonous Plant Database says it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which accumulate in the liver over time. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are hepatoxic and produce irreversible liver damage to both animals and humans. Livestock most vulnerable to poisoning are horses, cows and pigs. Sheep and goats show more resistance. Animals with hepatoxicity may appear yellow, be sensitive to light and exhibit abnormal behavior.
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