#common comfrey

[greencheekconure27]

[thebashfulbotanist]

For this Wednesday’s Weed, we have Symphytum officinale, common comfrey. Comfrey’s been used in traditional medicine for centuries in its native Europe, mostly as a topical ointment or similar used to treat pain from injuries or arthritis. Unfortunately, it also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can be fatally toxic to people and animals’ livers, and which build up over time, even through use of topical products. In the US, the FDA banned the sale of comfrey for medicinal use because it can be so toxic - so please, try to avoid using this herb, and never ever ever use it in tea or tincture. Please stick to safer ones instead - there are many less dangerous genera in the same family, Boraginaceae, which contain fewer pyrrolizidine alkaloids, like Mertensia, Pulmonaria, and Borago.

Growing comfrey is actually banned at the community garden I’m renting a plot at - it’s considered a toxic invasive species here in Washington State. I found this stuff growing around the edge of the plot and dug it out, and you can see why it’s so tough to get rid of - just look at those massive roots!

[transforest]

It's interesting and deeply unsettling realizing how many plants around here aren't native and are harmful to native members of the ecosystems. We have changed and are changing the world, and it makes me worry about the woods, and the spaces I practice in

[blackbirdspots]

Symphytum officinale | Common Comfrey

© Blackbirdspots

[natureinsight]

Symphytum officinale, rohtoraunioyrtti

[greencheekconure27]

[greencheekconure27]

[greencheekconure27]