#wild comfrey

Pussytoes

From top: Dryad’s saddle (Cerioporus squamosus), a magnificent and edible shelf fungus of Appalachia’s spring forests; wild comfrey (Cynoglossum virginianum), a native borage sometimes also referred to as blue hounds tongue; violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea); American cancer-root (Conopholis americana), a parasitic plant that attaches to oak tree roots; northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum); and wild stonecrop (Sedum ternatum), also known as three-leaved stonecrop.

Wild comfrey (Cynoglossum virginianum), also known as hound’s tongue and giant forget-me-knot, is a lush, elegant spring wildflower of Appalachia’s upland woods. This shade-loving perennial is instantly recognizable by its large, elliptical basal and clasping cauline leaves, smooth around the edges and covered in coarse hairs. The plant’s erect, hairy flowering stalk terminates in two to five tightly-coiled cymes, which unwind and elongate in mid to late May as their buds open to reveal delicate, sky blue to milky white flowers. Cynoglossum is not closely related to the European plant of the same name (Symphytum), although both plants are members of the borage family (Boraginaceae). The name “hound’s tongue” is a reference to the plant's basal leaves, which are thought to resemble dogs’ tongues. Photos above were taken at Toms Run Preserve.