Common name:
Russian comfrey
Family:
Scientific name:
Symphytum x uplandicum
Main flower color:
Range:
Most parts of the UK; a naturalised species, a hybrid, between symphytum officinale and symphytum grandiflorum
Height:
Up to 100 cm
Habitat:
Roadsides, hedgebanks, open woodland, waste ground
Flowers:
Red, blue or purple; tubular, slightly wider above the middle, with shallow lobes at the tip. The calyx is purplish, divided a little below the middle into five bristly, spreading lobes. Flowers are attached by bristly pedicels, and form as pendent clusters. A pinkish pistil projects just beyond the corolla, topped by a disc-shaped style; the five stamens are shorter
Leaves:
Large, ovate, with hairy margins, attached by stalks that continue a little way below the attachment point. Prominently veined
Season:
May to August
Rarity:
★★★★★
