How to start photo series from summer Europe without nice summer flower? After one week without Internet access, I'm connected with the world again. I’ve taken photo of this beautiful Common Foxglove (also known as Lady’s Glove) in forest near small lake in Northern Switzerland. Foxgloves are popular ornamental, with tall spires of tapered, tubular purple flowers. Foxgloves are a source of digitoxin, a glycoside used in the drug digitalis, which has been used as a heart stimulant since 1785. It is also well-known for its toxicity, and ingestion of the leaves which can result in severe poisoning. Despite their toxicity, Foxgloves have been widely used in folk-medicine. Foxglove tea (an infusion of the leaves) was taken for colds, fevers and catarrh, and compresses were used for ulcers, swellings and bruises. The flowering stem develops in the second year, typically 1 to 2 m tall, sometimes longer. The flowers are arranged in a showy, terminal, elongated cluster, and each flower is tubular and pendent. The flowers are typically purple (like this one in my photo), but some plants, especially those under cultivation, may be pink, rose, yellow, or white. The inside surface of the flower tube is heavily spotted. The flowering period is early summer, sometimes with additional flower stems developing later in the season. The plant is frequented by bees, which climb right inside the flower tube to gain the nectar within.
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