Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
Erysimum, or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. Erysimum is characterised by star-shaped and/or two-sided) trichomes growing from the stem, with yellow, red, pink or orange flowers and multiseeded seed pods.
In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for use. Many such plant glycosides are used as medications. Several species of Heliconius butterfly are capable of incorporating these plant compounds as a form of chemical defense against predators. In animals and humans, poisons are often bound to sugar molecules as part of their elimination from the body.
Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalized in parts of North America, as well as some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin. This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year. It generally produces enough seeds so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.
Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds. Plants synthesize phytochemicals for many reasons, including to protect themselves against insect attacks and plant diseases. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but most can be grouped into four major biosynthetic classes: alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides, and terpenoids.
Adonis vernalis, known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. More specifically, this plant grows in a wide range of locations which include open forests, forest clearings, dry meadows, mesic steppe, and mostly calcareous soil. Isolated populations are found from Spain in the west across Central Europe with fine examples in Valais, Switzerland, and southern Europe, reaching southern Sweden in the north and Abruzzo in the south, with its main area of distribution being the Pannonian Basin and the West Siberian Plain. In contrast to most other European Adonis species, the flowers appear in springtime, and are up to 80 mm (3.1 in) in diameter, with up to 20 bright yellow petals. Not only do the flowers begin to grow, but so do the plants aerial organs, from around April to May.
Digitalis lutea, the straw foxglove or small yellow foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, that is native to western and southern Europe and North West Africa.
Sambucus canadensis, the American black elderberry, Canada elderberry, or common elderberry, is a species of elderberry native to a large area of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, south to Bolivia. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry soils, primarily in sunny locations.
Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, and European black elderberry. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. The plant is widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree. Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine.
Digitalis lanata, vernacularly often called woolly foxglove or Grecian foxglove, is a species of foxglove, a flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It gets its name due to the woolly indumentum of the leaves. D. lanata, like other foxglove species, is toxic in all parts of the plant. Symptoms of digitalis poisoning include nausea, vomiting, severe headache, dilated pupils, problems with eyesight, and convulsions at the worst level of toxicity. The plant is also harmful to other animals.
Betonica officinalis, commonly known as common hedgenettle, betony, purple betony, wood betony, bishopwort, or bishop's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa.
Digitalis grandiflora, the yellow foxglove, big-flowered foxglove, or large yellow foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Digitalis, family Plantaginaceae. It is native to southern Europe and Asia. In mountains it grows on warm, bushy slopes or areas left after logging. The Latin specific epithet grandiflora means “large flowered”.
Penstemon digitalis is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. The flowers are white and are borne in summer. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southeastern United States. Penstemon digitalis is the most widespread species of Penstemon east of the Mississippi River.
Digitalis ferruginea, the rusty foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Hungary, Romania, Turkey and the Caucasus. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 1.2 m, which forms a rosette of oblong dark green leaves and carries spikes of russet, tubular flowers in summer.
Digitalis thapsi, which has been called mullein foxglove in the US, is a flowering plant in the genus Digitalis that is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, where it occurs in eastern Portugal and central and western Spain. It is of commercial importance as an ornamental plant. Hybrids with D. purpurea have proved successful and are fertile.
Digitalis ciliata, commonly called hairy foxglove is a member of the genus Digitalis. It has thimble-shaped, yellow to cream colored flowers produced on perennial plants with evergreen foliage. It is native to the Caucasus and is grown as an ornamental in other parts of the world. The species name is derived from the fine hairs that cover the plants stems and flowers.
Digitalis laevigata, common names Grecian foxglove or giraffe foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Digitalis, in the family Plantaginaceae.
Digitalis parviflora, the small-flowered foxglove, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to northern and central Spain. It grows at 500–2000 metres in altitude.
Digitalis viridiflora is a species of flowering plant commonly called green foxglove in family Plantaginaceae. It is a perennial species with greenish-yellow flowers produced on stems that grow 60 to 80cm tall. It is native to the Balkans. It is found growing in woodlands and on heaths.
Digitalis minor is a species of flowering plant in family Plantaginaceae, which has been called dwarf Spanish foxglove. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial species of foxglove which is endemic to the Balearic islands with large, pendulous, pink or purple flowers. Closely related to the common purple foxglove, it is best distinguished by its small fruits. It is one of the only foxgloves to grow in calciferous, alkaline soils.
