Features
The dried leaves of common foxglove are the principal source of the important heart drug, digitalis. Originally called "folkesglove" (glove of little folks or fairies), in Olde England, today foxglove is grown commercially for the leaves which yield powerful cardiac glycosides that strengthen and regulate heartbeat. Extreme caution must be used in administering digitalis since the lethal dose is only slightly stronger than the therapeutic dose.
There are about 3000 species in about 200 genera of "Scrophs", as the figwort family is nicknamed. They occur on every continent except Antarctica. There are about 20 species of Digitalis.