Comfrey
Symphytum Officinale
True Comfrey is a perennial herb in the Boraginacea family with broad, veined dark green leaves that bears small bell-shaped flowers in purple and cream. Comfrey is also known by a number of other names including Kintbone, Bruisewort, Healing Herb, Knitback and many more. As those names suggest, this herb is highly useful as a medicine. It is naturally astringent, analgesic and anti-inflammatory. Comfrey root and other parts, have been used for thousands of years to treat many ailments. The name Symphytum is the latin name (in Greek it is symphyton), derived from sympho which means “I grow together” or Solido, which means “I make firm”. The latin word, concolida, which was often found in historical papers, means, “the one who makes firm”. What we can take from this is that there are many good, historical indicators for Comfrey and it’s great many uses for supporting bones and any parts of the body that need “firmness”.
Knitbone
Comfrey is a powerful healing ally with many uses for issues with pain, swelling and inflammations of the body. It is an effective aid for treating back pain, osteoarthritis, sprains, strains, skin wounds, burns and bruises. This tough ally can be used fresh as a poultice, dried for use in salves and creams or even tinctured, although there are high amounts of alkaloids within this plant, so it is not recommended today, to take internally. In the past, and sometimes still, it has been used internally for gastritis, cough, peptic ulcers, rheumatism and more.
*Comfrey heals skin extremely fast at a cellular level. It is not recommended for deep flesh wounds that have become infected, as it can heal over the top too quickly and trap infection below. Always make sure a wound is infection free before using Comfrey topically.
In The Garden
Comfrey is a fantastic garden ally. The leaves are valuable for fertilizer, especially when soaked in rainwater for a few weeks. Comfrey loves to spread around when cut back with weed-eating. It will spread around and become very prolific. I love to compost comfrey leaves and use it in the garden a few months later. It is fantastic for tomatoes and potatoes. As always, I recommend doing your research, and get to know… Comfrey.