Everyone has his or her favourite flower or plant. For many, the vote would go to the foxglove, now at the height of its bloom, and the handsomest flower - certainly in woodlands. Mrs Grieve, author of A Modern Herbal, concurs: "perhaps the handsomest of our indigenous plants". And medicinally, down the centuries one of the most valuable - and dangerous. Everyone knows it to see. The Germans have a fanciful ditty about it. A little man is standing in the wood, it begins, and ends with the question unanswered as to who this "little man with the purple-red cloak" can be. Met long ago in a German grammar book and the teacher or the brightest pupil was meant to give the answer. The flower has many names in various languages. In England: Witches' Gloves, Dead Mens' Bells, Fairy's Glove, Gloves of Our Lady, Bloody Fingers, Fairy Bells. In Irish it is given by de Bhaldraithe as Meirin Puca and by Niall O Donaill as Meirin si, also dearg or puca.
And just as children get - or used to get - fun out of throwing the sticky balls of cleevers onto the hair of the girls in school, so there are tricks to play with the belllike blossoms. For example, remove a not-fully-open flower, hold each end tightly with your thumbs to make an air-sac and then press your thumbs together and it should go off with a pop. All that simple stuff is in the past, you'll say. Probably right. There are so many more fascinating things to do with machines than dabble in that sort of rural trivialities. But there is no doubt about the medicinal value of this plant. The French name for it is digitale, and everyone knows that, in modern hands, extracts from it are used in the treatment of heart conditions. Earlier herbalists, says Mabey, used the plant widely "despite its high toxicity", and in various ways - infusions of the leaves for sore throats and catarrh and also as poultices or compresses for swellings, bruises or ulcers.
It was only late in the 18th century that William Withering in his An Account of the Foxglove found out that, while its action on the heart was beneficial, the dosage was critical. Too much could stop the heart. Culpeper in his Complete Herbal has it as useful for so many troubles, not least as an ointment "for a scabby head".
But just enjoy the stately flower in your garden. And plant more next year. It is well set off by a few trees and shrubs.