Symphytum
Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Boraginaceae Genus: Symphytum
Species
Symphytum asperum Lepechin Symphytum officinale L. Symphytum tuberosum L. Symphytum x uplandicum Nyman

For the place, see Comfrey, Minnesota Download high resolution version (800x703, 233 KB)Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class of flowering plants. ... Families See text The Order Lamiales is a taxon in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. ... Genera many, see text Boraginaceae Juss. ... For the plant, see Comfrey Comfrey is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. ...

Comfrey (also comphrey) is an important herb in organic gardening, having many medicinal and fertilizer uses. For other uses, see Herb (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Organic horticulture. ...

Description

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) is a perennial herb of the family Boraginaceae with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places, and is widespread throughout the British Isles on river banks and ditches. Comfrey has long been recognised by both organic gardeners and herbalists for its great usefulness and versatility; of particular interest is the "Bocking 14" cultivar of Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). This strain was developed during the 1950s by Lawrence D Hills, the founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (the organic gardening organisation itself named after the Quaker pioneer who first introduced Russian Comfrey into Britain in the 1910s) following trials at Bocking, near Braintree, the original home of the organisation. The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... Genera many, see text Boraginaceae Juss. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... Lawrence D. Hills is a British horticulturalist, founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA). ... The Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) is a UK organisation dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Organic horticulture. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... // The 1910s represent the culmination of European militarism which had its beginnings during the second half of the 19th Century. ... Arms of the former Braintree and Bocking Urban District Council Braintree is a town of about 30,000 people in the county of Essex, in the south east of England. ... , Braintree is a town of about 42,393 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. ...

Other species include:

• Symphytum asperum, Prickly Comfrey, Rough Comfrey (synonym: S. asperrimum)
• Symphytum bulbosum, Bulbous Comfrey
• Symphytum caucasicum, Caucasian Comfrey
• Symphytum grandiflorum, Creeping Comfrey (synonym: S. ibericum)
• Symphytum orientale, White Comfrey
• Symphytum tauricum, Crimean Comfrey
• Symphytum tuberosum, Tuberous Comfrey
• Symphytum x uplandicum, Russian Comfrey, Healing Herb, Blackwort, Bruisewort, Wallwort, Gum Plant. (S. asperum x officinale, synonym: S. peregrinum)

Propagation

Bocking 14 is sterile, and therefore will not set seed (one of its advantages over other cultivars as it will not spread out of control), thus is propagated from root cuttings. The gardener can produce their own 'offsets' from mature, strongly growing plants by driving a spade horizontally through the leaf clumps about 3 inches below the soil surface. This removes the crown which can then be split into pieces. The original plant will quickly recover, and each piece can be replanted with the growing points just below the soil surface, and will quickly grow into new plants. When choosing plants to divide ensure that they are strong healthy specimens with no signs of rust or mildew. When dividing comfrey plants take care not to spread root fragments around, or dispose of on the compost heap as each can re-root, and comfrey can be a very difficult plant to get rid of. Offsets can also be purchased by mail order from specialist nurseries in order to initially build up a stock of plants. Example of Taking a Cutting [1] Plant cutting, also known as striking, is a technique for vegetatively (asexually) propagating plants in which a piece of the source plant containing at least one stem cell is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil, potting mix, coir or rock wool. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Families Pucciniaceae Melampsoraceae Coleosporiaceae Cronartiaceae Phragmidiaceae Pucciniastraceae Rusts are fungi of the order Uredinales. ... Mildew is a grey, mold-like growth caused by one of two different types of micro-organisms. ... A handful of compost A double-wide bin with compost at different stages of decomposition Compost is the aerobically decomposed remnants of organic materials. ...

Cultivation

The comfrey bed should be well prepared by weeding thoroughly, and dressing with manure if available. Offsets should be planted 2-3 feet apart with the growing points just below the surface, whilst root segments should be buried about 2 inches deep. Keep the bed well watered until the young plants are established. Comfrey should not be harvested in its first season as it needs to become established. Any flowering stems should be removed as these will weaken the plants in its first year. Comfrey should also be regularly watered until well established. Animal manure is often a mixture of animals feces and bedding straw, as in this example from a stable. ...

Comfrey is a fast growing plant, producing huge amounts of leaf during the growing season, hence is very nitrogen hungry. Although it will continue to grow no matter what, it will benefit from the addition of animal manure applied as a mulch, and can also be mulched with other nitrogen rich materials such as lawn mowings, and is one of the few plants that will tolerate the application of fresh urine diluted 50:50 with water, although this should not be regularly added as it may increase salt levels in the soil and have adverse effects on soil life such as worms. Mature comfrey plants can be harvested up to four or five times a year. They are ready for cutting when about 2 feet high, and, depending on seasonal conditions, this is usually in mid-Spring. Comfrey will rapidly regrow, and will be ready for further cutting about 5 weeks later. It is said that the best time to cut comfrey is shortly before flowering, for this is when it is at its most potent in terms of the nutrients that it offers. Comfrey can continue growing into mid-Autumn, but it is not advisable to continue taking cuttings after early Autumn in order to allow the plants to build up winter reserves. As the leaves die back and break down in winter, nutrients and minerals are transported back to the roots for use the following spring. General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... This article is about the urine of animals generally. ... Soil life or soil biota is a collective term for all the organisms living within the soil. ... For other uses, see Worm (disambiguation). ...

Comfrey should be harvested by using either shears a sickle or a scythe to cut the plant about 2 inches above the ground, taking care handling it because the leaves and stems are covered in hairs that can irritate the skin. It is advisable to wear gloves when handling comfrey. Despite being sterile, Bocking 14 Russian Comfrey will steadily increase in size. It is therefore advisable to split it up every few years (and at the same time propagate more plants that can be shared with fellow gardeners!). It is however difficult to remove comfrey once established as it is very deep rooting, and any fragments left in the soil will regrow. Rotovation can be successful, but may take several seasons. The best way to eradicate comfrey is to very carefully dig it out, removing as much of the root as possible. This is best done in hot, dry summer weather, wherein the dry conditions will help to kill off any remaining root stumps. Comfrey is generally trouble free once established, although weaker or stressed plants can suffer from comfrey rust or mildew. Both are fungal diseases, although they rarely seriously reduce plant growth and thus do not generally require control. However infected plants should not be used for propagation purposes. A small pair of shears A pair of shears is any scissors-type tool of relatively large size. ... Using a sickle A sickle is a curved, hand-held agricultural tool typically used for harvesting grain crops before the advent of modern harvesting machinery. ... A traditional wooden scythe A scythe (IPA: , most likely from Old English siðe, sigði) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing and reaping grass or crops. ... For the fictional character, see Fungus the Bogeyman. ...

Medicinal uses

Dorothy Hall writes that 'Russian comfrey and garlic could together, according to natural health usage, almost halve the present ills of western civilisation' ^[1]. An extravagant claim perhaps, but comfrey did indeed have a wealth of medicinal uses in bygone days. Contemporary herbalists view comfrey as an ambivalent and controversial herb that may offer therapeutic benefits but at the potential risk of liver toxicity.

One of its country names for comfrey was 'knitbone', a reminder of its traditional use in healing. Modern science confirms that comfrey can influence the course of bone ailments. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} The herb contains allantoin, a cell proliferant that speeds up the natural replacement of body cells. Comfrey was used to treat a wide variety of ailments ranging from bronchial problems, broken bones, sprains, arthritis, gastric and varicose ulcers, severe burns, acne and other skin conditions. It was reputed to have bone and teeth building properties in children, and have value in treating 'many female disorders'. In past times comfrey baths were popular to repair the hymen and thus 'restore virginity'. Constituents of comfrey also include mucilage, steroidal saponins, tannins, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, inulin, vitamin B12 and proteins. Allantoin is a botanical extract of the comfrey plant and is used for its healing, soothing, and anti-irritating properties. ... Mucilage is a thick gluey substance, often produced by plants. ... A bottle of tannic acid. ... Pyrrolizidine is a naturally occurring alkaloid, found in many of the plants in the Boraginaceae, Compositae, and Leguminosae families. ... Note: This article title may be easily confused with insulin. ... Cobalamin or vitamin B12 is a chemical compound that is also known as cyanocobalamine. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ...

The flowers of Russian comfrey

Internal usage of comfrey should be avoided because it contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) (Note, there are also non-hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.). Use of comfrey can, because of these PAs, lead to veno-occlusive disease (VOD). VOD can in turn lead to liver failure, and comfrey, taken in extreme amounts, has been implicated in at least one death.^{[citation needed]} In 2001, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a warning against internal usage of herbal products containing comfrey. ^[6] Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). ... Russian comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). ... Hepatotoxicity (from hepatic toxicity) implies chemical-driven liver damage. ... Pyrrolizidine is a naturally occurring alkaloid, found in many of the plants in the Boraginaceae, Compositae, and Leguminosae families. ... Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a disease affecting the liver. ... For the bird, see Liver bird. ... “FDA” redirects here. ...

Excessive doses of Symphytine, one of the PAs in comfrey, may cause cancer in rats.^{[citation needed]} This was shown by injection of the pure alkaloid. The whole plant has also been shown to induce precancerous changes in transgenic rats. ^[7] Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

Fertilizer uses

Comfrey is a particularly valuable source of fertility to the organic gardener. It is very deep rooted and acts as a dynamic accumulator, mining a host of nutrients from the soil. These are then made available through its fast growing leaves (up to 4-5 pounds per plant per cut) which, lacking fibre, quickly break down to a thick black liquid. There is also no risk of nitrogen robbery when comfrey is dug into the soil as the C:N ratio of the leaves is lower than that of well-rotted compost. Comfrey is an excellent source of potassium, an essential plant nutrient needed for flower, seeds and fruit production. Its leaves contain 2-3 times more potassium than farmyard manure, mined from deep in the subsoil, tapping into reserves that would not normally be available to plants. Officially the pound is the name for at least three different units of mass: The pound (avoirdupois). ... The C/N ratio or Carbon to Nitrogen ratio can, amongst other things, be used in analysing sediments and compost. ... General Name, symbol, number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, period, block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 39. ... For other uses, see Flower (disambiguation). ... A ripe red jalapeño cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... Óģ Ķ Ä· Ä» ļ Å… ņ Å– Å— Åž ÅŸ Å¢ Å£ Ć ć Ĺ ĺ Ń Å„ Å” Å• Åš Å› Ý ý Ź ź Đ Ä‘ Å® ů ÄŒ č ÄŽ ď Ľ ľ Ň ň Ř Å™ Å  Å¡ Ť Å¥ Ž ž Ǎ ÇŽ Äš Ä› Ǐ ǐ Ç‘ Ç’ Ç“ Ç” Ä€ ā Ä’ Ä“ Ī Ä« ÅŒ ō Ū Å« Ç– ǘ Çš Çœ Ĉ ĉ Äœ ĝ Ĥ Ä¥ Ä´ ĵ Åœ ŝ Å´ ŵ Ŷ Å· Ä‚ ă Äž ÄŸ Ŭ Å­ ÄŠ Ä‹ Ä– Ä— Ä  Ä¡ Ä° ı Å» ż Ä„ Ä… Ę Ä™ Ä® į Ų ų Ł Å‚ Ő Å‘ Å° ű Ä¿ Å€ Ħ ħ Ð ð Þ þ Å’ Å“ Æ æ Ø ø Ã… Ã¥ Ə É™ – — … [] [[]] {{}} ~ | ° § → ≈ ± − × ¹ ² ³ ‘ “ ’ ” £ € Α α Î’ β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Îœ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π Ï€ Ρ ρ Σ σ Ï‚ Τ Ï„ Î¥ Ï… Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω ...

There are various ways in which comfrey can be utilised as a fertiliser, these include:

• Comfrey for potatoes - freshly cut comfrey should be wilted for a day or two, then laid along potato trenches about 2 inches deep. Avoid using flowering stems as these can root. The leaves will rapidly break down and supply potassium rich fertiliser for the developing potato plants.
• Comfrey as a compost activator- include 2-3 inch deep layers of comfrey in the compost heap to encourage bacterial activity and help to heat the heap. Comfrey should not be added in quantity as it will quickly break down into a dark sludgey liquid that needs to be balanced with more fibrous, carbon rich material.
• Comfrey liquid fertiliser- can be produced by either rotting leaves down in rainwater for 4-5 weeks to produce a ready to use 'comfrey tea', or by stacking dry leaves under a weight in a container with a hole in the base. When the leaves decompose a thick black comfrey concentrate is collected. This must be diluted at 15:1 before use.
• Comfrey as a mulch- a 2 inch layer of comfrey leaves placed around a crop will slowly break down and release plant nutrients. it is especially useful for crops that need extra potassium, such as tomatoes, and also fruit bushes like gooseberries and currants.
• Comfrey potting mixture- originally devised using peat, environmental awareness has led to a leaf mold-based alternative being adopted instead. Two year old, well decayed leaf mold should be used, this will absorb the nutrient-rich liquid released by the decaying comfrey.
• In a black plastic sack alternate 3-4 inch layers of leaf mould and chopped comfrey leaves. Add a little dolomitic limestone to slightly raise pH. Leave for between 2-5 months depending on the season, checking that it does not dry out or become too wet. The mixture is ready when the comfrey leaves have rotted and are no longer visible. Use as a general potting compost, although it is too strong for seedlings.

For other uses, see Potato (disambiguation). ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... In agriculture and gardening, mulch is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. ... Leaf mold is a form of compost produced by the breakdown of shrub and tree leaves. ... For other uses, see Dolomite (disambiguation). ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ Hall, D, The Book Of Herbs, Pan 1976
2. ^ PMID: 16510384 Adv Ther. 2005 Nov-Dec;22(6):681-92 Topical symphytum herb concentrate cream against myalgia: a randomized controlled double-blind clinical study.
3. ^ PMID: 15638067 Phytomedicine. 2004 Sep;11(6):470-7. Efficacy and tolerance of a comfrey root extract (Extr. Rad. Symphyti) in the treatment of ankle distorsions: results of a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.
4. ^ PMID: 14518351 Fortschr Med Orig. 2002;120(1):1-9. Therapeutic characteristance and tolerance of topical comfrey preparations. Results of an observational study of patients
5. ^ PMID: 17169543 Phytomedicine. 2007 Jan;14(1):2-10. Epub 2006 Dec 13. Efficacy of a comfrey root (Symphyti offic. radix) extract ointment in the treatment of patients with painful osteoarthritis of the knee: results of a double-blind, randomised, bicenter, placebo-controlled trial.
6. ^ FDA/CFSAN - FDA Advises Dietary Supplement Manufacturers to Remove Comfrey Products From the Market. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
7. ^ PMID: 17118137 BMC Bioinformatics. 2006 Sep 26;7 Suppl 2:S16 Analysis of gene expression changes in relation to toxicity and tumorigenesis in the livers of Big Blue transgenic rats fed comfrey (Symphytum officinale).

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Comfrey Central - A Clearinghouse for Symphytum Information
• Contentions with Comfrey Studies
• British Columbia Cancer Agency on comfrey
• PubMed/Medline
• ITIS 32025 2002-09-05.
• NRM, Sweden 2002-09-05.
• IPNI Symphytum 2002-09-05.
• Flora of China 2002-09-05.en:Comfrey