FOXGLOVE. 



(Digitalis purpurea L.} 



DR. ALBERT SCHNEIDER, 

 Northwestern University School of Pharmacy. 



Pan through the pastures often times hath runne 

 To plucke the speckled fox-gloves from their stems. 



W. Browne, Britannia* Pastorals, II. 4. 



THE fox-glove is a biennial herb 

 from two to seven feet in height 

 with a solitary, sparingly 

 branched stem. The basal 

 leaves are very large and broad, gradu 

 ally becoming narrower and smaller 

 toward the apex of the stem and its 

 branches, dark green in color, pubes 

 cent, margin dentate, venation very 

 prominent. The inflorescence is very 

 characteristic. The large, numerous 

 flowers are closely crowded and pendu 

 lous from one side of the arched stalk. 

 The corolla is purple and spotted on 

 the inside. It is a very handsome 

 plant, widely distributed, preferring a 

 sandy or gravelly soil in open woods. 

 When abundant and in full bloom it 

 makes a beautiful exhibit. It is a gar 

 den favorite in many lands. 



This plant is apparently not men 

 tioned in the works of older authors. 

 It was not known to the ancient Greeks 

 and Romans. It was, however, used 

 medicinally in the northern countries 

 of Europe since very remote times. 

 The Anglo-Saxon word fox-glove is 

 derived from the Welsh ( I ith century), 

 foxes-glew, meaning fox music in allu 

 sion to an ancient musical instrument 

 consisting of bells hung on an arched 

 support. In the Scandinavian idioms 

 the plant bears the name of foxes' bells. 

 The German name Fingerhut, meaning 

 finger hat, hence thimble, is derived 

 from the resemblance of the flower to 

 a thimble. Still more poetical is the 

 name Wald-glb'cklein, meaning little for 

 est bells, in reference to the inflores 

 cence. In England the flowers are 

 known as foxes' fingers, ladies' fingers* 

 and dead men's bells. 



According to an old English work 

 on medicine the early physicians of 

 Wales and England applied this drug 



externally only. It was not until 1775 

 when the English physician Withering 

 began to use it internally, especially in 

 the treatment of hydrophobia. Mod 

 ern physicians consider digitalis one of 

 the most important medicinal plants. 

 It is a very powerful, hence very poi 

 sonous drug, its action being due to an 

 active principle known as digitalin. Its 

 principal use is in the treatment of de 

 ficient heart^ action due to various 

 causes but especially when due to valv 

 ular lesions. The physician must, how 

 ever, observe great care in its adminis 

 tration, not only because of its power 

 ful action but also because of its "cumu 

 lative action;" that is, the effect of the 

 drug increases although only normal 

 medicinal doses are given at regular 

 intervals, so that fatal poisoning may 

 result, especially if the patient should 

 attempt to rise suddenly. The physi 

 cian guards against this by gradually 

 decreasing the dose or by discontinu 

 ing it for a time and by requiring the 

 patient to remain in a recumbent posi 

 tion while under the influence of the 

 drug. 



'For medicinal use the leaves from 

 the wild-growing plants are preferred 

 because they contain more of the active 

 principle. The leaves are collected 

 when about half of the flowers are ex 

 panded and, since it is a biennial, that 

 would be during the second year. The 

 first year leaves are, however, often 

 used or added. Like all valuable drugs 

 it is often adulterated, the leaves of 

 Inula Conyza (ploughman's spikenard), 

 Symphytum officinal* (comfrey), and 

 Verbascum Thapsus (mullein) being 

 used for that purpose. The odor of 

 the bruised green leaves is heavy or 

 nauseous, while that of the dried leaves 

 is fragrant, resembling the odor of tea. 



