''Digitalis ciliata'', commonly called hairy foxglove is a member of the genus ''

Digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...

''. It has thimble-shaped, yellow to cream-colored flowers produced on perennial plants with evergreen foliage. It is native to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and is grown as an ornamental plant in other parts of the world. The species name is derived from the fine hairs that cover the plant's stems and flowers.

Description

Individuals of these species are

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

that grow from anywhere between 30 cm and 60 cm tall. They have an alternate leaf pattern with small, green,

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

leaveshttp://www.rareplants.de. 2012. ''Digitalis ciliata'' (Yellow Caucasus Foxglove). Web 30 April 2012. http://www.rareplants.de/shop/product.asp?P_ID=11983 that are known for both their medicinal purposes and high toxicity when ingested. The flowers are located at the terminal ends of the stems, and are arranged in a

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

pattern known as a '

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

Flowers and fruit

The flowers of ''Digitalis ciliata'' are a distinguishing feature that gave the entire genus its name, as it has a campanulate structure that also resembles a thimble and fits on the tip of the finger. The

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

has five parts and the color of the corolla is a pale-yellow. The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

, ''ciliata'', is indicative of the tiny “hairs” that are apparent on the upper and lower lips of the corolla. There are also tiny hairs that cover the leaves of the plant. The fruit is a capsule.

Distribution

''Digitalis ciliata'' is native to the

area.

Ecology

''Digitalis ciliata'' can be found in meadows, pastures, in the margins of forests, and also on slopes, as it is indigenous to mountainous terrain.

Uses

Horticulture

It can also be grown throughout the world where there is warm enough weather and well-drained yet moist soil. It can be grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in both Europe and North America.

Medicinal

''Digitalis ciliata'' is used to isolate cardenolide glycolosides and is abundant in basically all of the

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s that the ''

'' genus is known for. These common glycosides include

digitoxigenin Digitoxigenin, a cardenolide, is the aglycone of digitoxin. Digitoxigenin can be used to prepare actodigin. In Lednicer's book on steroids, it is made from deoxycholic acid Deoxycholic acid is a bile acid. Deoxycholic acid is one of the sec ...

, gitoxigenin, digoxigenin, gitaloxigenin, and diginatigenin. The seeds of ''D. ciliata'' are rich in the steroid glycoside digitonin, along with other lipids that are important in cardiac treatments.Kemertelidze, E. 2007. Biologically Active Compounds and original remedies from plants growing in Georgia. pp. 91-93. http://www.science.org.ge/2007-vol1/91-95.pdf Not only is ''D. ciliata'' useful in the cardiac sector of medicine, but its anti-proliferative roles are also being looked into for its possible role in suppressing tumors. There may be evidence that the

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

s found in this species have an anti-tumor effect by aiding in cell cycle arrest and cell death, or

apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4312974 ciliata