Fox Glove
Fox Glove
Location: Although it is sometimes cultivated in gardens, foxglove is frequently found wild in north central and north-eastern United States, as well as along the Pacific Coast, and in Hawaii.

All parts of the fox glove plant are toxic. Digitalis purpurea is a heteroside. The leaves contain digitalin, digitoxin, and digitonin. Severe poisoning comes about as a result of eating the leaves —either dried or fresh — which do not lose their toxicity through cooking.

Effects and Symptoms: Headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, delirium, slow or irregular pulse, distortion of colors, and death. Death is usually caused by ventricular fibrillation, excessively increasing the force of the heart’s contractions which in turn irritates the heart and stimulates the central nervous system.