Folk Medicine
Latin name: Consolidae radix
Usable parts: Young leaves and roots3
Harvest period: The leaves are picked in April – May, and the root in spring or autumn.
Constituents: Allantoin, asparagine, rosmarinic acid, choline, inulin, mucilage, resin, silicic acid, tannins, gum, sugar, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, symphyto-cynoglossin3
Action: Promotes the growth of skin tissue, heals wounds, relieves coughing, constipation, rheumatic ailments, has a haemostatic effect, and dilutes uric acid3
Application: Due to its pyrrolizidine alkaloids, its use is limited to external treatments. Frequently used in gel-form or as an alcohol tincture it helps treat bruises and bone fractures.16
Risk of misidentification: In its young state, the plant can be confused with the Digitalis purpurea (red foxglove). Particular attention should be paid to the leaves. The foxglove leaf is slightly notched, with a dark green upper side and a felty grey underside.
Tips for Domestic Cultivation
Small sections of the root are harvested in early spring and planted in loose soil – preferably in a semi-shaded, damp area.
Home Use / Recipe Idea
Gottfried Hochgruber’s Comfrey Gel 6
10 g freshly cut comfrey root
200 ml water
80 ml comfrey tincture
40 ml tincture of arnica
16 g Sepigel (gelling agent)
Enough for approx. 10 tubes“Die Kräuter in meinem Garten” by Siegrid Hirsch & Felix Grünberger; 22nd Edition; Freya Verlag Gmbh
Mash up the fresh root and mix with cold water. Separate out the fibre using a sieve to create a mucilaginous liquid, to which the comfrey and arnica tinctures are added. The “Sepigel” gelling agent is the last ingredient before it is filled into tubes.6
3 “Die Kräuter in meinem Garten” by Siegrid Hirsch & Felix Grünberger; 22nd Edition; Freya Verlag Gmbh
6 “Heilkräuter die Apotheke der Natur“ by Gottfried Hochgruber; 2nd Edition, 2018; Longo Editor AG
16 “Heilpflanzen für die Gesundheit” by Annekatrin Puhle, Jürgen Trott-Tschepe, Consultant: Birgit Möller (pharmacist); 2013 Franckh-Kosmos Verlag-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart