Boraginaceae. Symphytum officinale. Comfrey
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) is a perennial herb of the family Boraginaceae with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places, and is widespread throughout the British Isles on river banks and ditches. Comfrey has long been recognised by both organic gardeners and herbalists for its great usefulness and versatility; of particular interest is the "Bocking 14" cultivar of Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum). This strain was developed during the 1950s by Lawrence D Hills, the founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (the organic gardening organisation itself named after the Quaker pioneer who first introduced Russian Comfrey into Britain in the 1910s) following trials at Bocking, near Braintree, the original home of the organisation. Rosemary Morrow writes that 'Russian comfrey and garlic could together, according to natural health usage, almost halve the present ills of western civilisation' (The Book Of Herbs, Pan 1976). An extravagant claim perhaps, but comfrey does indeed have a wealth of medicinal uses. One of its country names was 'knitbone', a reminder of its traditional use in healing. The herb contains allantoin, a cell proliferant that speeds up the natural replacement of body cells. This means that it will promote the swift healing of damaged or injured tissues, as well as maintaining cell growth and preventing diseases. Comfrey has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments ranging from bronchial problems, broken bones, sprains, arthritis, gastric and varicose ulcers, severe burns, acne and other skin conditions. It is also said to have bone and teeth building properties in children, and have value in treating 'many female disorders'. In past times comfrey baths were popular to repair the hymen and thus 'restore virginity'. Constituents of comfrey also include mucilage, steroidal saponins, tannins, pyrr
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