Foxglove - Grecian, Digitalis lanata Ehrh., Naturalized Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Invasive

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Grecian Foxglove	Digitalis lanata Ehrh.	Figwort	Upland	Early Summer to Autumn
Other names and notes	A non-native plant to the United States (native to Europe, particularly Greece, and North Africa) that has become naturalized in a number of areas including the Upland Garden. The stately flower spikes are a stand-out on the Upland Garden hillsides in early summer. The tubular flowers are cream color with many purplish-reddish veins. It is biennial, but it is not unusual to see young plants with a short bloom spike in October. Leaves on the second year plant are alternate, linear and entire. The first year growth produces a basal rosette of dark green leaves. Most Digitalis lanata's are biennial but some can be perennial.




Above and below: The stately spires of Grecian Foxglove growing in groups on the hillside of the Upland Garden in early July.

Noxious Plant Notes: Not native to Minnesota or to North America. The plant seed pods have small hooks which attach to fur or clothing allowing the seeds to be dispersed widely. As such, it is considered a threat to native savanna and prairie plant communities. Grecian Foxgloive is listed on the DNR's Minnesota invasive non-native terrestrial plant list. Eradication is by pulling or spot application of glyphosate. The chemical makeup of the plant is toxic to humans and animals, although the heart medicine, digitalis, is a derivative of this species. The plant was not listed on Martha Crone's inventory of plants in the Garden in 1951 and has arrived in the Garden since that time.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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