Not so Comfey Comfrey

When we first bought this old house in Fall of 1997, my daughter called and said she had been offered an entire garden if she would come get everything by the end of the week. We both dropped everything we were doing, hopped in my truck (shovels on board) and hit the ground running (or digging as it was.)

We first took everything we could identify and knew was valuable. Valuable in the sense we knew what it would cost to buy comparable plants at a nursery. Next, we took things we couldn't identify but looked good. Finally, we took anything else that just might be good simply because it was free. A day later the entire yard was bulldozed.

Several truck loads of plants, stacked several deep, and we were smug and happy with our "find." Next, we both had to go home and dig that many holes again. Since this old house had no gardens, I also had to dig up a couple of big plots of ground - one in the sun and one in the shade. They were then plopped (literally) into the ground willy-nilly to get the job done that night.

These plants are referred to as "Galesburg Preacher" plants as that was our benefactor. Mostly, benefactor is correct. We received some very old heirloom plants that I value as much for their history as their beauty. We had some wonderful surprises with bulbs being buried in the roots of perennials. Almost all of my hosta came from those original "GP" plants. The sheer quantity was truly a blessing for this gardener.

Then there was a couple of not so much blessings. One was garlic chives and another was flowering vinca. I rue the day these babies hit my garden and have unsuccessfully fought them every year since.

The other is the perennial herb Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Comfrey grows almost anywhere and is valuable under my large walnut trees as a covering. It is about 24" high, has large blue/green leaves that shade out weeds, and pretty little pink/blue/lavender bell shaped flowers. And there the blessings stop.

It has a tap root that is huge and several feet deep. It is almost impossible to pull it all up and it will come back over and over. It self seeds with abandon being carried far and wide. (Bocking 14 doesn't self seed) It gets dark brown, stringy and rotten-looking in early fall. This garden goo is said to be a fine fertilizer but never put anything but the leaves on soil or it will sprout. It has fine hairs on the stems and leaves which stick into the skin. It crowds out/kills other plants as it spreads. When asked what the name of "that" pretty plant is, I refer to it as "the plant from hell."

Constant pulling will eventually deter it as will a healthy dose of "Round Up". In places where I've let it stay, I mow it when it starts it's ugly wilt in the Fall and it will re-sprout in a few weeks and look good as new.

This plant is the origin of the herbal tea "Comfrey" that is often sold in health food stores and web based herbal stores.

This herb should not be used as a medicine or ingested as it contains poison.

This plant contains several pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which cause veno-occlusive symptoms, liver cirrhosis, and death. Humans have been affected after ingesting herbal teas and medicines. I found reports that the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada's health officials have banned sale of some comfrey products. In 2001 the USFDA issued a warning against internal usage.

There is a comfrey that is said to have the poison removed during harvest/production. This is controversial and I tend to error on the side of caution.

Animals normally do not ingest the plant because of the bristly hairs. Topical herbal preparations are not considered toxic because the alkaloids do not reach the liver.

I've seen this Common Comfrey and Russian Comfrey plant offered by some nurseries and seed suppliers. One old country name is "knitbone" as it was believed to speed healing of broken bones. Like many old herbals, the "benefits" were stated as many and varied. The roots are more toxic than the leaves. Symptoms of poisoning include ascites, edema, and reduced urinary output. Children are more susceptible than adults. Poisoning is slow to show itself until considerable damage has been done. That's another reason to discontinue using as a drink or herbal medication.

Comfrey is still being tested for other uses such as forage, but, to date with little success.

Yep, my comfort level with comfrey aka the plant from hell, is pretty darn uncomfortable.