

Purple Foxglove (subsp. purpurea) Digitalis purpurea subsp. purpurea subspecies
Purple Foxglove (subsp. purpurea) is an introduced biennial herb, found in Alaska, Canada, and the lower 48 states.
More about this plant
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. Wikipedia →
Growing & care
USDA PLANTS · TRY- Hardiness
- ≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
- Lifespan
- Biennial
Wildlife & pollinators
How pollinator value is scored →❧ Caterpillar hosts ~3 caterpillar species
Digitalis supports ~3 caterpillar species.
Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus for introduced plants — native genera typically support far more.
Recorded feeding on Digitalis in North America, including:
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
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