Description:Symphytum is an erect perennial growing in most damp areas of the United Kingdom, Europe, western Asia and the U.S.A. It is a vigorous plant with broadly lanceolate leaves up to 30cm long, which taper into a point. The leaves arise as a rosette from the ground, have a rough texture, and are covered with short stiff hairs. The rosette supports a tall, erect flowering stem up to 1.5m tall, covered with sessile opposite leaves and bearing forked stalks which support one-sided racemes of pedicillate bell-shaped mauve or white flowers which curve downwards. The fruits are four greyish-brown nutlets. The rhizome is quite short and thick with black, finger-thick branched roots. The flowering period is from May to July. Russian comfrey ( S. peregrinum ), widely grown for its horticultural benefits, can also be used medicinally.

Long used to heal wounds, the comfrey leaves and roots have been used to cure ailments ranging from stubborn leg ulcers to broken bones, and hence its common name of “boneset” or “knitbone”.

During ancient times, comfrey baths were popular before marriage to repair the hymen and thus restoring virginity.

Since 400 BCE, early Greek physicians have used comfrey to stop bleeding, treat bronchial problems, heal wounds, and mend broken bones.

During the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, an Englishman named Henry Doubleday became convinced that the world could be saved from hunger and suffering by using comfrey. He established a charitable organization to research the cultivation and use of the plant that exists to this day and continues to publish pamphlets and books on its usage

Main constituents: Alkaloids (pyrrolizidine-type): Symphytine, symlandine, echimidine, intermidine, lycopsamine, myoscorpine, acetyllycopsamine, acetylintermidine, lasiocarpine, heliosupine, viridiflorine, and echiumine, Carbohydrates: Gums (arabinose, glucuronic acid, mannose, rhamnose, xylose), glucose, and fructose, Tannins (pyrocatechol-type) 2.4%, Triterpenes: Sitosterol and stigmasterol (phytosterols), steroidal saponins, and isobauerenol, Other constituents: Allantoin, caffeic acid, carotene, chlorogenic acid, choline, lithospermic acid, rosmarinic acid, and silicic acid

Properties: Vulnerary, demulcent, anti-inflammatory, astringent, expectorant.

Uses:Comfrey is an excellent wound-healer. This is partially due to the presence of allantoin. This chemical stimulates cell proliferation and so augments wound-healing both inside and out.

The addition of much demulcent mucilage makes Comfrey a powerful healing agent in gastric and duodenal ulcers, hiatus hernia and ulcerative colitis. Its astringency will help hemorrhages wherever they occur.

It has been used with benefit in cases of bronchitis and irritable cough, where it will soothe and reduce irritation whilst helping expectoration.
Comfrey may be used externally to speed wound-healing and guard against scar tissue developing incorrectly. Care should be taken with very deep wounds, however, as the external application of Comfrey can lead to tissue forming over the wound before it is healed deeper down, possibly leading to abscesses.

It may be used for any external ulcers, for wounds and fractures as a compress or poultice. It is excellent in chronic varicose ulcers.
It has a reputed anti-cancer action.

Safety Considerations: On July 6, 2001 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, advised all dietary supplement manufacturers to remove products containing comfrey from the market. (Full text available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dspltr06.html ) Comfrey contains unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic.

Magical:

Folk Names: Assear, Black Wort, Boneset, Bruisewort, Consohda, Consound, Gum Plant, Healing Herb, Knit Back, Knit Bone, Miracle Herb, Slippery Root, Wallwort, Yalluc, Gavez, Smeerwartel, Karakaffes, Ztworkost.

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Saturn

Powers: Safety during travel, Money.

Uses: Wear or carry it for protection and to ensure safety during travel. Tuck some into your suitcase to prevent them from being lost or stolen. Also used in money spells.

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