Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: Common foxglove, Foxglove, Purple foxglove

Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain)

Distribution: Europe

IUCN Red list: Not evaluated

Comments: The flowers are arranged in a showy and elongated cluster. Each flower is tubular and pendant. All parts of the plant are poisonous if eaten by humans and certain animals, due to the presence of digitoxin, a kind of glycoside. Extracted from the leaves, digitoxin is used as a medication for heart failure. It is cultivated as an ornamental. The plant is frequented by bees, which climb right inside the flower tube to gain the nectar within.