Introduced from mainland Europe as a fodder crop, this is the comfrey much used by gardeners as a source of green manure and consequently much dumped into the wider countryside when it gets out of control! Common throughout the region on roadsides and in rough ground. Calyx teeth short and broadly triangular. Often assumed to be Common Comfrey (which has cream flowers, not white) but the leaves do not have winged bases running down the stem.
Leaves broader and more rounded than those of other species. Our only species with pure white flowers. Common throughout most of the region in human environments and often common in smaller market towns where it grows often abundantly from walls, cracks in paving and around churchyards and old gardens. Introdued from south-east Europe as a garden ornamental.
ibericum is now usually considered to be just another name for S. Symphytum ibericum is sometimes considered to be a species that differs from this species only in its smaller flower size (14-20mm long versus 20-24mm for S. Some older records may refer to Symphytum x hidcotense before its identifying features were understood. A low, creeping plant that spreads to form extensive colonies. Scattered on shady hedgebanks, roadsides and rough ground. The cultivar 'Hidcote Pink' may occasionally be found (with colonies of this cultivar regularly throwing up odd shoots with 'Hidcote Blue' type flowers), while clear blue-flowered plants seem to be 'Wisley Blue' and I have found this blue cultivar in central Norfolk on a roadside verge. This seems to correspond quite closely with what is sold commercially as 'Hidcote Blue'. Most plants seen in the wider countryside resemble the photo that I have labelled as 'Typical flower spike' below, the red buds opening to whitish flowers with blue bases. There is a wealth of misinformation on the internet and many horticultural outlets are selling a range of different plants under this name. x uplandicum and this second parent may well be responsible for the variation in this hybrid. The parents of the hybrid are thought to be Symphytum grandiflorum and probably S. Flowering shoots may reach 60-80cm in height but leafy stems are ground hugging.Ī much-confused plant that appears to be highly variable in its flower colour and even produces a range of flower colours on a single, colonial plant. A low, creeping species that spreads rapidly to form extensive colonies of leaf rosettes. Highly invasive in gardens and thus regularly dug up and dumped into the wider countryside. Widespread and now one of our commonest comfreys on roadside verges, woodland edge, hedge bottoms and on waste ground in urban areas. The county floras would lead one to think that this plant is scarce, but it has been much misidentified in the past and also seems to have genuinely become more frequent in recent years. Because of misinformation elsewhere, coupled with the complexities of the group, I have needed to use more text on this page than I have typically used on other pages.Ī hybrid of garden origin. Despite these problems, identification is usually possible using features of the stem and leaf bases, flower colour (within certain boundaries) and details of the calyx (the five fused sepals at the base of the flower tube). In the creeping species, the flower colour can even be different on shoots that originate from the same root system. It has been noted that the flower colour on an individual plant can be different from year to year and can vary as the season progresses. It should be noted that flower colour seems to be unstable and highly variable in many of the comfreys (particularly the hybrids). This tends to complicate identification, but most plants can be identified so long as careful attention is paid to the right features.
IdentificationĬomfreys can be rather variable in appearance and are known to hybridise readily. Where are they found?Īll but one of the species on this page is a non-native and thus most likely to be found in human-influenced habitats in urban areas or on roadside verges The native Common Comfrey is a plant of wet grasslands, fens and ditch sides. These plants are members of the borage family, a family of plants that includes many species that are well-known as garden ornamentals or valued for their herbal qualities. Honeyworts are very similar in their flowers but are annuals. The comfreys are stout, persistent perennials with tubular flowers carried in curled clusters.
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