Comfrey
Symphytum officinale
Therapeutics
Anti-inflammatory and pain relieving externally applied, internally it acts as a nervous system depressant, demulcent (internally and externally)
Plant Anatomy & Growth
Perennial plant growing up to 3ft in height. Stems are branches and hairy with oval hairy leaves. It has small blooms, drooping bells that range in color from white to blue. Its roots are woody, thick and deep reaching. They are brown to black externally and grayish internally, very wrinkly too.
Native to Europe but naturalized in America, this plant loves the sun! Its deep reaching roots penetrate into the earth bringing up the nutrients buried there. They also remove toxins from the soil making comfrey great in remediation efforts.
Scent
Grassy but mild
Color
Hairy green leaves with filaments
Dark brown woody roots
Taste
Mildly unpleasant, grassy, a bit salty
Constituents
Mucilage, allantoin, and two poisonous alkaloids consolidine and symphytocynoglossine (water soluble only).
Uses
Best used for topical applications, works amazing in oil infusions. See my page one oil infusions if you want to learn how to make one yourself!
Do not ingest as Comfrey can be hard to process by the liver.
References
Staiger C. Comfrey: a clinical overview. Phytother Res. 2012 Oct;26(10):1441-8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4612. Epub 2012 Feb 23. PMID: 22359388; PMCID: PMC3491633.
Youngken, H. A textbook of pharmacognosy. 4ed. 1936: 643. Maple Press Company. York,PA