I purchased a baby plant last yr @ the FW Herb Society's Herb Sale (Always the 3rd Sat in May--Everyone welcome, don't be shy!!) & it was mislabeled Coneflower. From one of HG's TV segments I determined it was actually comfrey (understandable, close alphabetically), but now it's beginning to flower & I don't know what to think. Didn't even know until this yr comfrey flowered & have NO idea what to expect. The opening buds do sorta resemble coneflower, but the leaves are fuzzy/hairy & the plant isn't more than about 12" tall. Any ideas? Can't find any pix of comfrey in flower, either.

Comfry does flower. Mine did for the first time this year. I hope you have it planted in a large area by itself as it gets larger every year. I think mine is a small tree this year

Ray:
What do you use comfry leaves for?
I understand it can be used on insect bits with good results but do not know how it's to be used.

Comfry is a good herb to use for insect bites and rashes. I had a brown recluse spider bite my leg about 2 weeks ago and did not know it was a brown recluse until my leg developed a large red area the next day. I broke off a comfry leaf and rubbed the juice on the affected area for 3 days. All is well now. It is too strong to ingest but makes a great topical treatment. Works great on pets as well.

I posted a plea a week or so ago for a poison ivey cure and hg replied saying the juice from the comfrey worked pretty good, so there is one more use. Guess I better go out and find some because if I come within 10 feet of poison ivy I start itching. Never had it until I moved to OK 6 years ago from N.C.

Comfrey blooms in many different colors, white, pink, and lavender. The plant is an excellent source of nitrogen, trace minerals and nutrients for the compost pile. Since it can be very invasive, control its spread by cutting it back even once a month and add it to compost or use it as mulch around other plants. Like mint, plant it where you are sure you want it, because it is difficult to eradicate once well established!

Deer like it, so I have trouble keeping enough of it going.

I make a poultice of the stems, not the leaves, and aloe vera juice. Mix in a blender or food processor and apply to rashes, poison ivy, etc. I use strips of old sheets or tee shirts and wrap the herb material and leave it on several hours or overnight.

It is also known as the knitbone plant. Poultices of the plants are reputed to speed healing of broken bones. I will let you know about that, as I am recovering from a broken tibia!

For poison ivy sufferers, look for TecNu Cleanser from Tec Labs. If you wash poison ivy within a few hours of contact with this stuff, you will not get the rash. Follow directions on the package. Walmart, Walgreens and many grocery stores carry it. You can also wash tools and garden equipment to remove the oil. I am never without this stuff!
Trisha S

Trisha:

This is exactly the info I was looking for...Good go'n kid.

I have only one plant thus far as a test model, to see if I can kill it or not and to try it out on my boo boos.

Good luck with with your Tib. How did your manage the break or shoud I ask? I've never had a broken bone but have done some really dumb stuff in my life.

PS Welcome to the board and will look for your additional posts.

You can make a tincture from the comfrey leaves. Find a pint jar or quart jar. Chop or crush the leaves and fill the jar about half full. Get a bottle of the cheapest vodka you can find and fill the jar with the vodka. Keep the jar in a dark, dry place and shake it twice a day for about two weeks.

Voila!

Or you can purchase dried comfrey leaves at a helath food store and make a tincture using 2 oz leaves to 8 oz vodka.

It is supposed to be good for strains, sprains, broken bones, etc.

BJ:
Is there something else one can use rather than Vodka?
I'm afraid it would dry out the skin. My applications requires that the skin not be dried out.

You could use rubbing alcohol, but that would dry out your skin even more. I wonder if witch hazel would work..?

Nadine:

I've heard of witch hazel but unsure of it's makeup.
I've desided to blend up AleoVera and add it to the mix.

"Comfrey is famous for its high amount of naturally occuring allantion, which is found primarily in the roots but in its leaves as well. Allantoin is a potent "cell proliferant" which means that it actively catalyzes the growth of new cells in all body tissue including bones. It also hastens the cleanup of septic, sloughing surfaces (dead, diseased or slow-healing tissues) making way for the fast, new growth of healthy tissues. Although not an antiseptic, it catalyzes growth of leucocytes in the blood which are natural infection fighters and infection preventatives.

Comfrey also has a strong collection of usable proteins, the ability to make available significant amounts of vitamin B12 and the mucilaginous quality of its leave and roots which makes it extremely soothing to irritate mucous membranes and other irritated areas." (From the book "10 Essential Herbs" by Lalitha Thomas. I highly recommend it!)

Comfrey propagates easily from root cuttings. Roots can be harvested in domant winter months when they contain the highest amounts of allantion. Although not as much as the winter roots, leaves (especially) and stems (to the least degree) still hold significant amounts of usable allantion along with vitamins, minerals and protein. Best time to harvest mature leaves is any time before or after the plant flowers when the plants energies are not being directed to producing flowers.

You can buy dried comfrey. Properly dried, the leaves should be green, not brown.

To use externally, you can apply a poultice of fresh or dried leaves directly to the affected area. Green juice from ground up leaves and a little water can be applied to the area or used as a healing liquid to rinse the wound. The leaves can be steeped in olive oil to make a lotion or with a little melted bees wax added, to make a salve. If you plan to steep the leaves, let them wilt for an afternoon after picking to allow some of the moisture in the leaves to evaporate. This will concentrate the properties and reduce chance of your lotion or salve molding later.

Comfrey and onion are both good for insect stings.

Hope this helps!

Marlyn

Please remember that comfrey should never be taken internally. Personally, I would and do use comfrey on insect bites but never on an open wound any larger than that. More info:

http://www.herbalgram.org/wholefoodsmarket/herbalgram/articleview.asp?a=839

“…cases of human poisoning by comfrey have now been published... (Yeong et al. 1990) reported the death from liver failure of a 23-year-old man in New Zealand. The subject had been ingesting four to five fresh young comfrey leaves daily (species undetermined)..."

Witch hazel is generally about 17 percent alcohol by volume so it would be less drying to the skin
Trisha