Flora of North America species comparison

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Digitalis purpurea

Digitalis purpurea subsp. purpurea

common foxglove, digitale pourpre, foxglove, purple foxglove
Photo is of parent taxon

purple foxglove
Stems

50–270 cm, hairy, hairs glandular and eglandular.
Leaves

blade lanceolate to oblanceolate or obovate, 10–42 × 2–12 cm, margins coarsely serrate.
Inflorescences

secund, villous, hairs glandular and eglandular;

bracts 14–50 mm.
Pedicels

pendent, 5–15 mm, villous, hairs glandular and eglandular.
Flowers

sepals ovate-lanceolate, 9–25 × 2–13 mm, glabrous or villous, hairs glandular and eglandular;

corolla tube pink-purple to white, funnelform, 25–60 mm, throat 20–25 mm diam., abaxial lip pendent, pink-purple to white, rounded, 8–10 mm.
Capsules

ovoid-conical, slightly 2-lobed, 10–17 mm, pilose.
Seeds

brown, cylindric to ovoid, 1 mm, reticulate-alveolate.
2n

= 56 (Europe).

Digitalis purpurea

Digitalis purpurea subsp. purpurea
Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Disturbed sites, roadsides, clearcuts, old fields, pastures.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; CA; CO; CT; ID; MA; MD; ME; MI; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America, South America, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; CA; CO; CT; ID; MA; MD; ME; MI; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; SPM; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, Central America, South America, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
Discussion

Subspecies 5 (1 in the flora).

Digitalis purpurea was once used as a commercial source of digitalin, is widely cultivated, and has many cultivars. Some plants have been identified as European subspecies; all variability in the flora area appears to be from cultivars of subsp. purpurea. Digitalis ×mertonensis B. H. Buxton & C. D. Darlington (strawberry or giant foxglove) is a hybrid of D. purpurea with D. grandiflora that is sometimes cultivated.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 17, p. 259. FNA vol. 17, p. 259.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Digitalis Plantaginaceae > Digitalis > Digitalis purpurea
Sibling taxa
D. grandiflora, D. lanata, D. lutea
Subordinate taxa
D. purpurea subsp. purpurea
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 621. (1753) unknown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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