foxglove

Any of about 20 species of herbaceous plants of the genus Digitalis, in the family Plantaginacea, especially D. purpurea, the common, or purple, foxglove. Native to Europe, the Mediterranean region, and the Canary Islands, foxgloves typically produce ovate to oblong leaves toward the lower part of the stem, which is capped by a tall, one-sided cluster of pendulous, bell-shaped, purple, yellow, or white flowers, often marked with spots within. D. purpurea is cultivated as the source of the heart-stimulating drug digitalis.

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