Comfrey

Comfrey
Heart-leaved comfrey ( Symphytum cordatum )
Systematics
Asterids Euasterids I Family : Boraginaceae (Boraginaceae) Subfamily : Boraginoideae Tribe : Boragineae Genre : Comfrey
Scientific name
Symphytum
L.

Comfrey ( Symphytum ), formerly (and still today in the German-speaking Switzerland) and comfrey (in relation to the heal [ "Wallen"] of bone fractures and wounds, especially for comfrey species Symphytum officinale ) or comfrey called, is a plant genus , the family of the Boraginaceae belongs (Boraginaceae). The 40 or so species are native to Europe , North Africa and western and central Asia .

description

Stems with trichomes from comfrey ( Symphytum officinale )

Vegetative characteristics

Symphytum species are perennial herbaceous plants . The roots are thickened. The above-ground parts of the plant are rough or hairy with bristles.

The alternate leaves are simple. The basal leaves are stalked and the stem leaves are sessile to (in many species) descending on the stem. There are no stipules .

Generative characteristics

Typical inflorescence ( double wrap ) of the common comfrey ( Symphytum officinale )

Floral diagram

Common Comfrey ( Symphytum officinale )

A terminal double coil is formed as a typical inflorescence . There are no cover sheets. The hermaphroditic flowers are radially symmetrical and five-fold with a double perianth . The five sepals are fused with unequal calyx tips at most up to the middle and lengthen slightly until the fruit is ripe. The five light purple-red, white or rarely yellow petals are mostly bell-shaped, but also fused tubular. In the corolla tube there are five appendages, so-called "corolla scales", with papillary glands. The five corolla lobes are triangular to semicircular with serrated edges, and the tip can sometimes be curled up. There is only one circle with five stamens ; they are fused with the corolla tube and do not protrude beyond the crown. The two carpels are a top permanent ovary deformed, by notches in four Klausen with one ovule is divided. In the recess of the four-part ovary with a convex stylus cushion is the thin stylus, which ends in a cephalic scar and mostly protrudes above the crown.

There are Klaus fruits formed. The four partial fruits are egg-shaped, sometimes a little unequal, usually glandular-warty, reticulate-wrinkled or rarely smooth. The seeds have elaiosomes .

Rough Comfrey ( Symphytum asperum )

Symphytum brachycalyx

Bulbous comfrey ( Symphytum bulbosum )

Caucasian comfrey ( Symphytum caucasicum )

Creeping Comfrey ( Symphytum ibericum )

Lump comfrey ( Symphytum tuberosum )

Food comfrey ( Symphytum x uplandicum )

Systematics

The genus name Symphytum was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum . Type species is Symphytum officinale . Synonyms for Symphytum L. are Procopiana Gușul. orth. var., Procopiania Gusul. The genus Symphytum belongs to the tribe Boragineae in the subfamily Boraginoideae within the family of Boraginaceae .

species

There are about 40 species in the genus Comfrey ( Symphytum ):

• Symphytum abchasicum Trautv. (Syn .: Symphytum ibericum var. Abchasicum Gvin. ): The homeland is Georgia .
• Symphytum aintabicum Hub.-Mor. & Wickens : The home is in Turkey .
• Symphytum anatolicum Boiss. : The home is on the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea , in Turkey, Lebanon and Syria .
• Rough comfrey ( Symphytum asperum Lepech. , Syn .: Symphytum asperrimum Sims ): The original distribution area is in the Caucasus region and in western Asia .
• Symphytum betteri Zaver. : The home is in Ukraine .
• Symphytum bornmuelleri Buckn. : The home is Turkey.
• Symphytum brachycalyx Boiss. : The distribution area is around the Palestinian region and selectively in southern Turkey.
• Bulbous comfrey ( Symphytum bulbosum Schimp. , Syn .: Symphytum zeyheri K.F. Schimp. , Symphytum tuberosum subsp. Bulbosum (KFSchimp.) P. Fourn. ): The home is in the Mediterranean .
• Caucasian comfrey , Caucasus comfrey ( Symphytum caucasicum M.Bieb. ): The home is the Caucasus region and possibly Iran .
• Symphytum circinale Runemark : The distribution area includes the East Aegean Islands from Samos and Ikaria to Rhodes and Euboea .
• Heart-leaved comfrey ( Symphytum cordatum Waldst. & Kit. Ex Willd. ): The homeland is Slovakia , Poland , Ukraine and Romania .
• Crete comfrey ( Symphytum creticum ( Willd. ) Runemark ex Greuter & Rech.f. ): In addition to Crete , this species also inhabits the southern Peloponnese and Zakinthos .
• Symphytum cycladense Pawl. : The home is on only two islands in the Greek region of the South Aegean .
• Symphytum davisii Wickens : The home is in Greece .
• Symphytum floribundum Buckn. (Syn .: Symphytum mediterraneum FWSchultz): It is native to France .
• Large-flowered comfrey ( Symphytum grandiflorum DC. ): The home is the Caucasus region.
• Symphytum gussonei F.W.Schultz : The distribution is on Sicily and the surrounding islands.
• Symphytum hajastanum Gvin. : The homeland is Armenia .
• Creeping Comfrey ( Symphytum ibericum Steven ): The home is Georgia and Turkey.
• Symphytum icaricum Pawl. : Home are the East Aegean Islands.
• Symphytum insulare ( Pawl. ) Greuter & Burdet (Syn .: Procopiania insularis Pawl. , Trachystemon orientalis sensu Rech.f. ): The home is Karpathos and the Cyclades .
• Symphytum kurdicum Boiss. & Hausskn. : The home is Turkey.
• Symphytum longisetum Hub.-Mor. & Wickens : The home is Turkey.
• Symphytum microcalyx Opiz : The distribution area is in the Ukraine .
• Symphytum naxicola Pawl. : The home is Greece.
• Genuine comfrey , common comfrey ( Symphytum officinale L. ): It is widespread in Eurasia from Spain to China . There are several subspecies:
  • White comfrey ( Symphytum officinale L. subsp. Bohemicum ( FWSchmidt ) Čelak. , Syn .: Symphytum bohemicum F.W.Schmidt ):
  • Symphytum officinale ( Symphytum officinale L. subsp. Officinale , Syn .: Symphytum patens Sibth. )
  • Marsh comfrey ( Symphytum officinale L. subsp. Uliginosum ( A.Kern. ) Nyman , Syn .: Symphytum uliginosum A.Kern. , Symphytum tanaicense Steven , Symphytum officinale L. var. Glabrescens Nickles )
• Oriental comfrey ( Symphytum orientale L. , Syn .: Symphytum tauricum auct. Non Willd. ): Home is in northwestern Turkey and southwestern Ukraine.
• Symphytum ottomanum Friv. (Syn .: Procopiana euboica Runemark , Symphytum euboicum ( Runemark ) Runemark ): The distribution area is the Balkan Peninsula .
• Symphytum peregrinum Ledeb.
• Symphytum pseudobulbosum Azn. : The home is Turkey.
• Symphytum savvalense Kurtto : The home is in Turkey.
• Symphytum sylvaticum Boiss. : The home is Turkey.
• Symphytum tanaicense Steven (is sometimes also considered a subspecies Symphytum officinale subsp. Uliginosum ( A.Kern. ) Nyman ): The distribution area extends from Central Europe to Eastern Europe .
• Symphytum tauricum Willd. : The homeland is Bulgaria , Romania and Russia .
• Lump comfrey ( Symphytum tuberosum L. ): It is native to large parts of Europe as far as Turkey. There are two subspecies:
  • Symphytum tuberosum L. subsp. angustifolium ( Kern. ) Nyman (Syn .: Symphytum leonhardtianum Pugsley , Symphytum tuberosum subsp.nodosum ( Schur ) Soó )
  • Symphytum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum .
• Symphytum × foliosum Rehm : The home is the Central European countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia .
• Symphytum × hidcotense P.D.Sell : The parents are the large-flowered comfrey ( Symphytum grandiflorum ) DC. and the feed comfrey ( Symphytum × uplandicum ) Nyman ).
• Symphytum × norvicense Leaney & CLO'Reilly : Home is England . The parents are the rough comfrey ( Symphytum asperum ) and the real comfrey ( Symphytum officinale ).
• Symphytum × perringianum P.H. Oswald & PDSell : The parents are the oriental comfrey ( Symphytum orientale ) L. and the feed comfrey ( Symphytum × uplandicum Nyman ).
• Symphytum × polonicum Błocki ex Buckn.
• Symphytum × pseudopterum Borb. : The home is Slovakia.
• Symphytum × rakosiense ( Soó ) Pénzes : The home is Slovakia.
• Symphytum × ullepitschii Wettst. : The home is Slovakia.
• Food comfrey ( Symphytum × uplandicum Nyman , it is a hybrid of the rough comfrey and the real comfrey ( Symphytum asperum × Symphytum officinale ).

use

Medicinal plant

The comfrey species were used as medicinal herbs in ancient times. The ancient Greek doctor Dioscurides, for example, describes what he has already called Symphyton állo (σύμφυτον ἄλλο) in detail. However , it is unclear whether the medicinal plant known as alum gallicum in Latin antiquity corresponds to comfrey. In any case, both the ancient Greek and the German name of the plant derive from its use on broken bones and open wounds. The plants have also been thought to have healing properties for injuries to ligaments and tendons. Both the now recognized generic name Symphytum and the name Consolida , which was used in earlier works, translate as " growing together" ( Latin : consolidare , Greek : symphýein ). The real comfrey ( Symphytum officinale ) is used as a medicinal plant and is also grown in herb gardens. Applied externally, it is effective for bruises, strains and sprains, but its use is restricted. Comfrey is used for so-called "blunt trauma" due to its pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and decongestant effects. A comparison with the superficial application of diclofenac for joint injuries showed an at least equivalent potency effect of comfrey extract. The healing effect on the skin is due to the ingredient allantoin , which has now found numerous areas of application in cosmetics. Allantoin accelerates cell structure and cell formation, which in ancient medicine was used primarily in the treatment of lower leg ulcers.

Toxicity

Comfrey contains varying amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids , which (in high doses and as a single substance) are liver-damaging and carcinogenic. The Commission E has therefore approved for use Germany as a medicinal plant only under restrictions. In Canada and some states of the USA comfrey products for internal use are no longer allowed to be marketed.

Uninformed people have confused the highly toxic foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ) with comfrey.

Soil improver

All comfrey species have in common that they grow very quickly and can quickly become a nuisance in the garden. They are often used as mulching material in the garden . Comfrey manure is an excellent organic nitrogen fertilizer. (See also herbal manure )

The suitability as a mulch material comes from the fact that comfrey species “dig” in the soil for nutrients that are often not available for other plants in nutrient-poor soils.

swell

• Masha Bennett: Pulmonarias and the Borage family. Timber Press, Portland 2003, ISBN 0-88192-589-6 .
• Gelin Zhu, Harald Riedl, Rudolf V. Kamelin: Symphytum. In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven (Ed.): Flora of China . Volume 16: Gentianaceae through Boraginaceae . Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 1995, ISBN 0-915279-33-9 , pp. 359 (English, efloras.org ).

Supplementary literature

• Fulda Abbey: Comfrey - what is it? 9th edition. Fulda 2000, ISBN 3-924201-05-6 .
• Mannfried Pahlow: The great book of medicinal plants. Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-7742-3848-0 .
• Peter Schönfelder , Ingrid Schönfelder: The Kosmos medicinal plants guide. European medicinal and poisonous plants. 4th edition. Franckh, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-440-05854-9 .
• Avril Rodway: Herbs and Spices. The most useful plants in nature - culture and use. Tessloff, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-7886-9910-8 .
• Ursel Bühring : practical textbook of modern medicinal plants. Basics, application, therapy. 2nd, revised edition. Sonntag Verlag, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-8304-9097-6 , p. 411.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum. Volume 1, 1753, p. 136, digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.biodiversitylibrary.org%2Fpage%2F358155%23148~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided%3D~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D
2. ^ ^{A b} Symphytum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
3. ↑ Burcu Tarıkahya Hacıoğlu, Sadık Erik: Phylogeny of Symphytum L. (Boraginaceae) with special emphasis on Turkish species . In: African Journal of Biotechnology . tape 10 , no. 69 . Academic Journals, November 7, 2011, ISSN  1684-5315 , p. 15483–15493 , doi : 10.5897 / AJB11.1094 (English, ajol.info - abstract, DOI can only be accessed via login).
4. ↑ Benito Valdés, 2011: Boraginaceae. : Data sheet Symphytum In: Euro + Med Plantbase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity.
5. ↑ Bomble, FW & Schmitz, BGA 2013: Caucasian comfrey (Symphytum caucasicum M. Bieb.) And Hidcote comfrey (Symphytum x hidcotense PD Sell) in the Aachen area. Jahrb. Bochumer Bot. Ver. 4: 56-60. (PDF 1 MB)
6. ^ ^{A b c} Bogumil Pawłowski: De genere Procopiana Gușuleac. In: Fragmenta Floristica et Geobotanica. Volume 17, No. 1, 1971, pp. 39-58.
7. ↑ Peter Schönfelder , Ingrid Schönfelder: The new cosmos Mediterranean flora. Franckh Kosmos Verlag Stuttgart 2008. ISBN 978-3-440-10742-3 . Pp. 136-144.
8. ↑ Werner Greuter, Karl Heinz Rechinger: Flora of the island of Kythera at the same time the beginning of a nomenclature review of the Greek vascular plant species. In: Boissiera. Volume 13, 1967, p. 100.
9. ^ Bogumil Pawłowski: Symphytum. In: TG Tutin, VH Heywood, NA Burges, DM Moore, DH Valentine, SM Walters, DA Webb (eds.): Flora Europaea . Volume 3: Diapensiaceae to Myoporaceae . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1972, ISBN 0-521-08489-X , pp. 103–105 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
10. ↑ Bomble, FW & Schmitz, BGA 2013: Caucasian comfrey (Symphytum caucasicum M. Bieb.) And Hidcote comfrey (Symphytum x hidcotense PD Sell) in the Aachen area. Jahrb. Bochumer Bot. Ver. 4: 56-60. (PDF 1 MB)
11. ↑ JK Crellin, AL Tommie Bass: Herbal Medicine Past and Present: A reference guide to medicinal plants. P. 187.
12. ^ Dioscurides, de materia medica 4: 9f.
13. ↑ August Steier : Alum Gallicum . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Supplementary volume VII, Stuttgart 1940, Col. 22-26, especially Col. 24f.
14. ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-16-7 (reprint from 1996).
15. ↑ ^{a b} monograph BGA / BfArM - heilpflanze-welt.de.
16. ↑ Roberto D'Anchise, Michael Bulitta, Bruno Giannetti: Comfrey Extract Ointment in Comparison to Diclofenac Gel in the Treatment of Acute Unilateral Ankle Sprains (Distortions) . In: drug research . tape 57 (11) , no. 2007 . Editio Cantor, Aulendorf 2007, p. 712-716 , doi : 10.1055 / s-0031-1296672 .
17. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Green stuff: Herbalist Christel Berweiler - Comfrey - Symphytum officinale
18. ↑ apotheker.or.at further evidence with the exact wording
19. ↑ http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/ ( Memento from April 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
20. ↑ Caution: Confusion of comfrey and thimble leaflet Leaflet of the Joint Poison Emergency Call Center of the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, 2015
21. ^ Marie-Luise Kreuter: The organic garden. 25th edition. 2012, p. 209.
22. ↑ Margit Rusch: Gardening differently: Permaculture elements in the home garden. eco book, Staufen near Freiburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-936896-52-7 .
23. ↑ Toby Hemenway: Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. 2nd edition. P. 127.

Web links

Wiktionary: Comfrey  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Commons : Beinwell ( Symphytum )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Breitschopf: Comfrey - the unknown species and what are pyrrolizidine alkaloids? History of an admission restriction ( Memento from November 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )