Folk Medicine

Latin name: Consolidae radix

Usable parts: Young leaves and roots3

Harvest period: The leaves are picked in April – May, and the root in spring or autumn.

Constituents: Allantoin, asparagine, rosmarinic acid, choline, inulin, mucilage, resin, silicic acid, tannins, gum, sugar, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, symphyto-cynoglossin3

Action: Promotes the growth of skin tissue, heals wounds, relieves coughing, constipation, rheumatic ailments, has a haemostatic effect, and dilutes uric acid3

Application: Due to its pyrrolizidine alkaloids, its use is limited to external treatments. Frequently used in gel-form or as an alcohol tincture it helps treat bruises and bone fractures.16

Risk of misidentification: In its young state, the plant can be confused with the Digitalis purpurea (red foxglove). Particular attention should be paid to the leaves. The foxglove leaf is slightly notched, with a dark green upper side and a felty grey underside.

Tips for Domestic Cultivation

Small sections of the root are harvested in early spring and planted in loose soil – preferably in a semi-shaded, damp area.

Home Use / Recipe Idea

Gottfried Hochgruber’s Comfrey Gel 6

10 g freshly cut comfrey root

200 ml water

80 ml comfrey tincture

40 ml tincture of arnica

16 g Sepigel (gelling agent)

Enough for approx. 10 tubes“Die Kräuter in meinem Garten” by Siegrid Hirsch & Felix Grünberger; 22nd Edition; Freya Verlag Gmbh

Mash up the fresh root and mix with cold water. Separate out the fibre using a sieve to create a mucilaginous liquid, to which the comfrey and arnica tinctures are added. The “Sepigel” gelling agent is the last ingredient before it is filled into tubes.6


3 “Die Kräuter in meinem Garten” by Siegrid Hirsch & Felix Grünberger; 22nd Edition; Freya Verlag Gmbh
6 “Heilkräuter die Apotheke der Natur“ by Gottfried Hochgruber; 2nd Edition, 2018; Longo Editor AG
16 “Heilpflanzen für die Gesundheit” by Annekatrin Puhle, Jürgen Trott-Tschepe, Consultant: Birgit Möller (pharmacist); 2013 Franckh-Kosmos Verlag-GmbH & Co.KG, Stuttgart