Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Common Comfrey - Symphytum officinale   L.
Members of Boraginaceae:
Only member of Symphytum in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Lamiales » Family Boraginaceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionThere is a specimen from Jackson County at herbarium WCUH, but the SERNEC database has no data for it. BONAP maps it in Jackson and Buncombe counties.

Native of Europe; in N.A. southern Canada south to NC, GA, AL, AR, NM, and CA; absent from the Midwestern Plains.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatNo data on the NC habitats, but found in disturbed areas in the U.S.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-August.
IdentificationCommon Comfrey is rather robust, 1.5-3 feet tall, with large, ovate basal leaves and smaller, narrower stem leaves. The leaf stalks of the latter run down the stem. The flowers are in terminal clusters, each one 12-18 mm long, rather tubular, and dull pink to purple; the flowers characteristically hang downward, with the opening at the bottom.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.