Digitalis purpurea is also known by another name - thimble grass, it has a rather large height and can grow from 50 to 150 cm.This plant got its name due to the form of peculiar flowers that really look like a thimble. Digitalis purpurea is common in Europe, the natural places where it can be found are forests, as well as the banks of ponds, and it is also often found on rocky soils. The plant tolerates low temperatures very well, and is also drought tolerant.
Digitalis purpurea is a very good honey plant, so you need to be prepared for the fact that after the appearance of such a plant in the garden, it will attract many bees. In the first year of life, digitalis does not bloom, flowering begins in the second year.
The digitalis flower is an ear of corn in which there are many flowers. The most common color of the corolla is purple; it is for this plant that the digitalis is called purple. Flowers can be of different colors, but the most common are white, cream, carmine. If you carry out timely pruning of flowers that have bloomed, then they may well bloom again within a year.
The digitalis purpurea does not cause any problems when grown, it is completely unpretentious and freely takes root in almost any soil. But in order to obtain a developed plant that will have large flowers, it is necessary to plant it on fertile soils and water it in the dry period.
If you decide to have this plant in your garden, then take the seeds and plant them directly in the ground, this is done in April-May. As already mentioned, digitalis purpurea has a two-year growth cycle, in the first year a developed root system is formed, and already in the second year it blooms. But there are varieties of this species that can bloom in the first year of life. If favorable conditions are created for a plant, then it self-propagates by seeds, and digitalis can also be propagated by digitalis by young shoots of the root shoot. Digitalis purpurea is a muse for gardeners, since it is it that has the largest and most vibrant flowers.
Digitalis are poisonous but, despite this, they are medicinal plants and are very effective in treating edema and heart failure. As medicinal raw materials use the leaves of this plant. Digitalis preparations have a stronger effect on men, as well as on people of advanced age.
Since the amount of medicinal substances in digitalis leaves varies significantly depending on the conditions of its growth, the time when they were harvested, and the drying process, it is grown separately for medical purposes.
Digitalis in its composition has a certain set of toxic substances that have a very good effect on such heart functions as styol, distiol and stroke volume.
It is strictly forbidden to conduct self-medication with drugs that contain digitalis, it should be carried out exclusively under the supervision of a qualified specialist. This is explained by the fact that the plant is poisonous and the excess of certain doses will allow poisons to accumulate in the body, and they are displayed very long and slowly. Exceeding these doses can cause very severe toxicosis and even cardiac arrest. In case of poisoning with these drugs, the antidotes are potassium chloride, atropine and caffeine.
Digitalis is harvested during flowering and requires a sunny day. It is better to carry out drying in special dryers, where a constant temperature of about 60 ° C will be maintained.
The use of these drugs is contraindicated for people who have coronary insufficiency, compensated heart defects and acute myocardial infarction. Symptoms of digitalis poisoning include sleep disturbance, pain in the heart and increased shortness of breath.