It is early May and the Comfrey plants are in their full glory. They astound me each year in how fully present they become in the garden and surrounding tree guilds, towering over the clover, dandelion, and various docks; almost as if they embody the role of the garden guardians. Some of them look like small shrubs, rising well over a meter in height and diameter. The leaves are large and oval shaped and grow in an alternate fashion around a stout and hairy stem. The newly emerging purple bell shaped flowers hang in clusters and attract all sorts of pollinators, especially honey bees and bumble bees.
Comfrey is a perennial and has naturalized here in the U.S., growing in old fields, along streams and waste places. It is a member of the Boraginaceae family and is considered a biodynamic accumulator; having a large taproot that is eight to twelve feet, drawing up nutrients from deep in the earth and making them available in their roots, leaves and stems. Comfrey is very high in protein, Vitamin A precursors, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron and and other trace minerals and is suggested to derive and store Vitamin B-12 from the soil (Coe’s Comfrey brochure). These leaves can be used as a nutritional food source for animals and also as a nutrient dense green matter for the compost and compost tea. We often chop and drop the leaves to compost right where they are cut. This is a great plant to include in your permaculture design.
Comfrey has several nick names: Knitbone, Blackroot, and Bruisewort are just a few. It has been suggested that it is a wonder herb by some herbalists. Comfrey root, stems and leaves are considered cooling, moistening, bitter and sweet with an affinity towards bone, muscles, skin, lungs, stomach and kidneys. The plant is very mucilaginous and contains allantoin, which aids in cell proliferation in minor injuries, helping wounds heal rapidly. Comfrey is considered a vulnerary and a demulcent which soothes and coats irritated tissues and helps with inflammation. Comfrey also has astringent and expectorant properties, while relaxing the membranes.
Comfrey root, stems and leaves can be used internally and externally. Historically, the young leaves of Comfrey were eaten in salads and cooked dishes or dried and drank as a tea or added to food and juices. It has also been made as a tincture with root and leaves and stems. It is used externally in the form of compresses, fomentations, oils, salves and creams. Comfrey is indicated for any rapid wound or bone healing. External applications of Comfrey are very healing to wounds, cuts, burns, bruises, and most skin irritations, even friction blisters that have formed from over use of hands or feet from gardening, and hiking. We use the comfrey salve alone and in combination with plantain and calendula for a more general wound healer (and my parents love it as a rapid healing salve on insect bites and all sorts of rashes). Check out the Herbal Recipes section for how to make your own comfrey infused oil, salve and fomentation.
I will note that there is some controversy in the U.S. about using Comfrey internally. The FDA does not recommend the use of Comfrey internally and on broken skin. One study found that high doses and heavy consumption of the root (making up 30-50% of the diet), caused tumors to develop in juvenile rats. The roots contain the compound pyrrolizidine alkaloid, which when over consumed and over long periods of time, can result in liver veno-occlusive disease (Tierra, The Way of Herbs, 1998). We must be discerning and judicious in how we choose to bring about healing for ourselves and the environment around us and to use herbs in a way that is respectful, in moderation, and in their whole form.
Our relationship with Comfrey, like many other herbs, invites us to collaborate in a way that is nurturing and healing to ourselves and all the other organisms that share this space with us. Engaging with Comfrey’s deep nourishment as a way to enrich soil, feed pollinators, and relieve pain and promote healing in injuries is a step on a path to greater wellness.
May our herbal allies be plentiful and our appreciation for them grow ever deeper!