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Comfreys
Symphytum
Symphytum is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced , from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', referring to uses in ancient traditional medicine).
Symphytum is native to northern temperate regions of Europe and Asia, with a wide introduced distribution on both continents as well as the Americas. There are 59 recognized species. More than 150 species have been cataloged by botanists. Some species and hybrids, particularly S. officinale, Symphytum grandiflorum, and S. × uplandicum, are used in gardening and herbal medicine. Species in the genus Symphytum are different from Andersonglossum virginianum, known as wild comfrey, which is another member of the borage family.
32 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Common, Russian and Rough Comfreys
complexSymphytum officinale
Tuberous Comfrey
speciesSymphytum tuberosum
Caucasian Comfrey
speciesSymphytum caucasicum
Soft Comfrey
speciesSymphytum orientale
Creeping Comfrey
speciesSymphytum grandiflorum
Hidcote Comfrey
hybridSymphytum × hidcotense
Bulbous Comfrey
speciesSymphytum bulbosum
Crimean Comfrey
speciesSymphytum tauricum
heart-leaved comfrey
speciesSymphytum cordatum
Palestine comfrey
speciesSymphytum brachycalyx
Symphytum ottomanum
speciesSymphytum ottomanum
Symphytum creticum
speciesSymphytum creticum
Symphytum × mosquense
hybridSymphytum × mosquense
Symphytum davisii
speciesSymphytum davisii
Rhodian Comfrey
speciesSymphytum circinale
Symphytum kurdicum
speciesSymphytum kurdicum
Iberian comfrey
speciesSymphytum ibericum
Symphytum anatolicum
speciesSymphytum anatolicum
Symphytum gussonei
speciesSymphytum gussonei
Symphytum × wettsteinii
hybridSymphytum × wettsteinii
Symphytum ibiricum
speciesSymphytum ibiricum
Perring's comfrey
hybridSymphytum × perringianum
Symphytum pseudobulbosum
speciesSymphytum pseudobulbosum
Symphytum sylvaticum
speciesSymphytum sylvaticum
Symphytum microcalyx
speciesSymphytum microcalyx
Symphytum aintabicum
speciesSymphytum aintabicum
Symphytum longisetum
speciesSymphytum longisetum
Symphytum × ferrariense
hybridSymphytum × ferrariense
Symphytum bornmuelleri
speciesSymphytum bornmuelleri
Podkumian comfrey
speciesSymphytum podcumicum
Hajastanian comfrey
speciesSymphytum hajastanum
Symphytum savvalense
speciesSymphytum savvalense
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Living Images of Plants
Otto Brunfels · 1532 · p.85
Ortus sanitatis
1491 · p.130
Ortus sanitatis
1491 · p.410
Garden of Health
Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.130
Living Images of Plants
Otto Brunfels · 1532 · p.83
Living Images of Plants
Otto Brunfels · 1532 · p.86
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1549 · p.727
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.650
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.648
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1560 · p.648
History of Plants in Four Books
Valerius Cordus · 1561 · p.282
Commentaries on the Six Books of Dioscorides on Medical Matter
Pietro Andrea Mattioli · 1563 · p.593
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Symphytum in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 55725.