View source for Symphytum officinale

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Boraginaceae
|genus=Symphytum
|species=officinale
|common_name=Comfrey, Common comfrey, English comfrey
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|habit=herbaceous
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max ht box=5
|Max ht metric=ft
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max wd box=6
|Max wd metric=ft
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|exposure=sun, shade
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|features=flowers, birds
|flower_season=early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid summer, late summer
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flowers=red, pink
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=3
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=9
|image=Symphytum officinale - Iceland - 2007-07-10a.jpg
|image_width=240
}}
'''''Symphytum officinale''''' is a [[perennial]] [[flowering plant]] of the genus ''[[Symphytum]]'' in the family [[Boraginaceae]]. Along with several other species of ''Symphytum'', it is commonly known as [[comfrey]].

The hardy plant can grow to a height of 60 cm.

Comfrey has been used in [[folk medicine]] as a [[poultice]] for treating burns and wounds. However, internal consumption, such as in the form of [[herbal tea]], is discouraged, as it can cause serious liver damage.<ref>http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPHN%2FPHN7_07%2FS1368980004001156a.pdf&code=f5f837200b6f79862cf84720c13bb8d5</ref>

{{Inc|
Symphytum officinale, Linn. (S. bohemicum, F. W. Schmidt). Perennial, about 3 ft. high: root thick: st. branched, white-pilose: lvs. slightly pilose, basal and lower cauline ovate - lanceolate, upper oblong-lanceolate, all broadly decurrent at base: fls. white, yellowish, purple, or rose, in drooping cymes. Eu., Asia. Var. argenteum, Hort., is offered in the trade as growing 2 ft. high, with silver-variegated foliage and drooping blue fls. Var. aureum, Hort., is offered in the trade as a golden variegated form growing 2 ft. high. Var. coccineum, Hort. (S. coccineum, Hort., ex Schlecht.), is offered in the trade as a scarlet-fld. form. Var. lilacinum, Hort., is offered in the trade. Var. purpureum, Pers. (S. officinale var. bohemicum, Don), has reddish purple fls. Eu. Var. variegatum, Hort., has lvs. widely margined with creamy white. F.S. 18:1901-1902.
{{SCH}}
}}