The image, above, shows the full common comfrey plant(Symphytum officinale), left, with flowers. The image,
top right, shows the leaves of the young plant. In the centre,
right panel, a young flowering plant is shown. In the panel,
bottom right, the plant is shown in full flower..
| Common Name: Common Comfrey |
| Scientific Name: Symphytum officinale |
| Other Names: Comphrey |
| Family: Boraginaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to Spain, Siberia and Turkey. |
Physical Characteristics
Symphytum officinale is a hardy Perennial plant, growing to 1.2m (4 ft) by 0.6m (2 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from May to June and the seeds ripen from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Shoots, Stalks, Roots |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: As note of caution, the plant contains small quantities of a toxic alkaloid which can have a cumulative effect upon the liver. The largest concentration is in the root and the leaves accumulate more of the alkaloid as they grow older. The levels in young leaves is negligible. For a healthy adult, very large quantities of the plant would have to be consumed for it to possibly do any harm. But anyone with liver problems should treat the plant with caution. However, do not consume with tansy as the effects could be significantly enhanced.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Common Comfrey along with all the Common Comfrey containing recipes presented on this site, with 4 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Common Comfrey as a major wild food ingredient.
Common Comfrey, Symphytum officinale (also known as Comphrey) is a perennial herb of the Boraginaceae (borage) family. The plant has a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers. It is a native of Europe and prefers damp, grassy places and is common throughout Britain, especially on riverbanks and the sides of ditches. Comfrey is increasingly being used as a source of fertilizer in organic gardening. The plant derives its name from the Latin confervre 'to grow together' and was used by medieval herbalists as a bone-setter, in that the root when mashed could be placed around a broken limb and quite quickly the mash would set as hard as heartwood.
Typically, comfrey grows in moist, damp, places, often beside streams, rivers and ditches. The leaves are large and pointed, have a soft thick texture and are covered in slightly prickly hairs.
The leaves of comfrey are used in cooking. They can be boiled like spinach and when seasoned well make a good accompaniment to most meats. In contrast with other wild plants it's not important to just pick the young leaves, as the older leaves of his plant (as long as they are still fresh) contain more flavour. It's also possible to pick the young leaf spears (generally in March) and when chopped they have a flavour reminiscent of cucumber and work wonderfully in any salad.
It should be noted that though I list comfrey in this directory and I provide comfrey recipes, comfrey should only be eaten with some caution and in small quantities. This is because comfrey contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and the use of comfrey can, because of these PAs, lead to veno-occlusive disease (VOD). VOD can in turn lead to liver failure, and comfrey, taken in extreme amounts, has been implicated in at least one death. However, the levels of these compounds in very young leaves is negligible.
Due to their hairy nature, whole leaves are not palatable to most people. The leaves are best finely chopped, either before adding to salads or after steaming or boiling. The young shoots can be cooked and served as an asparagus substitute. The plant's stalks, particularly if blanched under a pot can also be used as an asparagus substitute. The older leaves can be dried and infused in water as a tisane. The roots have also been eaten in the past (but take note of the health warning, above). Once peeled the roots can be chopped and added to soups and stews. The roasted leaves can also be mixed with dandelion and chicory roots in the preparation of a coffee substitute.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Common Comfrey as a major wild food ingredient.
Common Comfrey, Symphytum officinale (also known as Comphrey) is a perennial herb of the Boraginaceae (borage) family. The plant has a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers. It is a native of Europe and prefers damp, grassy places and is common throughout Britain, especially on riverbanks and the sides of ditches. Comfrey is increasingly being used as a source of fertilizer in organic gardening. The plant derives its name from the Latin confervre 'to grow together' and was used by medieval herbalists as a bone-setter, in that the root when mashed could be placed around a broken limb and quite quickly the mash would set as hard as heartwood.
Typically, comfrey grows in moist, damp, places, often beside streams, rivers and ditches. The leaves are large and pointed, have a soft thick texture and are covered in slightly prickly hairs.
The leaves of comfrey are used in cooking. They can be boiled like spinach and when seasoned well make a good accompaniment to most meats. In contrast with other wild plants it's not important to just pick the young leaves, as the older leaves of his plant (as long as they are still fresh) contain more flavour. It's also possible to pick the young leaf spears (generally in March) and when chopped they have a flavour reminiscent of cucumber and work wonderfully in any salad.
It should be noted that though I list comfrey in this directory and I provide comfrey recipes, comfrey should only be eaten with some caution and in small quantities. This is because comfrey contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and the use of comfrey can, because of these PAs, lead to veno-occlusive disease (VOD). VOD can in turn lead to liver failure, and comfrey, taken in extreme amounts, has been implicated in at least one death. However, the levels of these compounds in very young leaves is negligible.
Due to their hairy nature, whole leaves are not palatable to most people. The leaves are best finely chopped, either before adding to salads or after steaming or boiling. The young shoots can be cooked and served as an asparagus substitute. The plant's stalks, particularly if blanched under a pot can also be used as an asparagus substitute. The older leaves can be dried and infused in water as a tisane. The roots have also been eaten in the past (but take note of the health warning, above). Once peeled the roots can be chopped and added to soups and stews. The roasted leaves can also be mixed with dandelion and chicory roots in the preparation of a coffee substitute.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Common Comfrey recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 4 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Comfrey Aloo Origin: Fusion | Goosegrass and Wild Greens Soup Origin: Britain |
| Feuilles de Consoude Farcies (Stuffed Comfrey Leaves) Origin: France | Schwarzwurz Origin: Germany |
Page 1 of 1