I knew the forecast of an impending storm would further aggravate the aggressive nature of this particular hive. A rumble or two of thunder is usually enough to send them scurrying back home. We usually try and move them as near to or after sunset in order to give all the foragers a chance to return to the hive. After a month of quarantine and a good dose of sunshine, they bounced back and were ready to return to the bee yard. I decided to isolate them on a friend’s property away from my healthy hives. We’d had a delayed and wet spring, and one of my more aggressive hives appeared sickly. Last summer, my husband and I were moving one of my failure-to-thrive beehives. I’ve done extensive reading on comfrey and concluded that when used externally, comfrey is a useful and beneficial herb. Remember when I said that my reasons for growing comfrey were not altruistic? Well, it turns out that I am a bit of a rebel at heart. Needless to say, I am definitely comfortable with comfrey. The leaves are so fast-growing that I can harvest comfrey leaves and within a week they have already grown back by half to their pre-cut size. When mulched, the fast-growing leaves make a great compost activator. We err on the side of caution and recommend avoiding comfrey for internal use particularly in the case of preexisting liver conditions, and if considering internal use we recommend researching this matter for yourself so you have all the facts.) Growing Comfrey in the GardenĬomfrey is also useful in organic gardening due to its rich nitrogen content. uplandicum) was used, there is dissension among herbalists regarding this decision and whether comfrey is indeed toxic. Since a chemical in isolation behaves differently than when present in a whole plant, rats are different than humans, and it is unclear whether common comfrey (S. (Note from Editor: It should be noted that the studies that led to this decision involved isolating PAs and injecting them at high concentrations into rats. Germany and Canada followed suit and in 2001, the FDA asked major manufacturers to remove comfrey from their standard list of ingredients. Overuse of substances containing PAs can lead to severe liver damage and for that reason Australia placed Comfrey on the Poison Advisory List in 1984. Comfrey also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), a known hepatotoxic agent. It has both anti-inflamatory and keratinolytic effects and is useful in the treatment of skin conditions following post radiation in cancer patients. Allantoin promotes granulation and cell formation which aids in healing at the cellular level. It was taken internally for a variety of medical aliments ranging from broken bones and gastric ulcers to the treatment of female disorders.Ĭomfrey contains allantoin, a substance commonly used in the cosmetic industry. True to its Latin name, comfrey was applied externally as a poultice for bruises, sprains and fractures. The Latin name is from the Greek symphis, which means “growing together of bones” or “knit together.” Comfrey has appeared in the Materia Medica since the Middle Ages and some references to the plant date back as far as 50 AD. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of my herbs, but I particularly love perennial herbs like comfrey that are well suited to a pot and can be brought indoors during our cold Kansas winter.Ĭomfrey ( Symphytum officianale), a member of the borage family, is a fast-growing, leafy perennial. Common name or comfrey comes from the Latin words " con" and " firma" meaning "with strength" in reference to its reputation for healing wounds and broken bones.I started growing comfrey a couple of years ago, but my reasons were NOT strictly altruistic. Specific epithet means rough in reference to plant texture. Genus name comes from the Greek words symphyo meaning to grow together and phyton for plant as the plant was believed to help heal wounds. Plants are cultivated for silage (fodder) in Russia. It has naturalized in parts of southern Canada, the northern U.S. This plant is native from Russia (Caucasus) to Iran. Small tubular flowers (each to 1/2" long) in scorpioid cymes open rose-pink in spring but mature to blue or purple. Mature stems are not winged (leaf bases are not decurrent as is the case with Symphytum officinale. Ovate to elliptic leaves (to 2-8" long) are dark green and prickly hairy. Symphytum asperum, commonly called prickly comfrey or Persian comfrey, is a coarse, hairy, rhizomatous perennial that is typically grown in shaded wildflower areas or naturalized areas for its attractive foliage and spring flowers.
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