FOXGUOVE. 
(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. 
HE 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 theancient 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 (11th 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 /ingerhut, meaning 
finger hat, hence thimble, is derived 
from the resemblance of the flower to 
athimble. Still more poetical is the 
name Wald-glicklein, 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 
170 
—W. Browne, Britannias Pastorals, LI. 4. 
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 dgitalin. 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. 5 
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 oradded. Like all valuable drugs 
it is often adulterated, the leaves of 
Inula Conyza (ploughman’s spikenard), 
Symphytum officinale (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. 
