The Foxglove —by Míchealín Daugherty (Also known as Bloody Fingers, Cottagers, Dead Men's Bells, Dog's-Finger's, Digitalis, Faerie Caps, Faerie's Fingers, Faerie's Glove, Faerie Thimbles, Finger Flower, Fingerhut (German),  Flapdock, Flopdock, Folk's Glove, Gloves of Our Lady, Lion's-Mouth, Popdock, Rabbit's-Flower, Revbielde (Norwegian)    Scotch Mercury, Throatwort, Virgin's Glove and Witches' Gloves.) The Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)  is widely distributed throughout Europe and is common as a wildflower in Great Britain and Ireland. The heart medication, digitalis, was originally derived from this plant. It is said that Vincent van Gogh took digitalis for epilepsy, and that the yellow vision this drug creates may have influenced his art! The Foxglove derives its common name from the shape of the flowers resembling the finger of a glove. The earliest known form of the word is the Anglo-Saxon foxes glofa (the glove of the fox). The northern legend is that bad faeries gave these blossoms to the fox so that he might put them on his toes to soften his tread when he prowled among the roosts. Its Norwegian name, Revbielde, which translates to "Foxbell," is the only foreign name that alludes to the Fox. The mottlings, or speckles, on the blossoms were said to mark where the elves had placed their fingers, and one legend ran that the marks on the Foxglove were a warning sign of the baneful juices secreted by the plant, thus, in Ireland gain the plant is commonly called Dead Man's Thimbles. In Scotland, it forms the badge of the Farquharsons, as the Thistle does of the Stuarts. Its  Latin adjective Digitalis  derives from Digitabulum, which means "a thimble." Medicinal value The Foxglove's leaves are good for cleansing for cold sores and ulcers; the leaves may be boiled and used as an expectorant. William Withering In 1775, about 100 years after the last witch-hunt, 34-year-old William Withering was a doctor in Stafford, England, and an avid medical botanist. In the course of his practice, he heard rumors of an "old Shropshire woman" who could treat "dropsy," that era's term for the disease we now call congestive heart failure. Withering located the woman, a folk herbalist, who described her "secret family recipe," which contained 20 herbs. Withering realized that the active ingredient was foxglove, and after using the treatment himself, he gained a reputation for treating congestive heart failure. Soon after, Withering published his Account of the Foxglove and its Medical Uses, which recounted how he was introduced to the plant and further summarized his results in 163 cases. The drug derived from foxglove, digitalis, has only recently been surpassed by other medications as a treatment for congestive heart failure. Sources include: Castleman, M. The New Healing Herbs, Bantam Books, 2002. Grieve, M.  A Modern Herbal, Random House Publishers, 1973. Pennsylvania State University Dept. of Agriculture (website). Personal knowledge/traditions. Tierra, L. The Herbs of Life: Health & Healing Using Western & Chinese Techniques, The Crossing Press, 1997. For more about flowers, plants and herbs, see Ireland's OWN Myths and Magic Page last updated 31 Jul  2008 Website Design and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.