Foxglove 133330210608

Pretty in pink/purple don't you think?

Foxgloves contain "glycosides" which is taken from the plant during the plant's second year of growing. The leaves are used to make up the heart drug Digitalis. Digitalis is an example of a cardio-active or cardiotonic drug, in other words a steroid which has the ability to exert a specific and powerful action on the cardiac muscle in animals, and has been used in the treatment of heart conditions ever since its discovery by the Scottish Doctor William Withering in 1775.