How do you recognise Straw foxglove (Digitalis lutea)?

Leaf

Liliane Roubaudi, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Straw foxglove

Digitalis lutea L.

Also known as: Small yellow foxglove, Yellow foxglove

Family: Plantaginaceae

40 to 80 cm tall

Woodland edges, banks, gardens, chalky soils

Flowering: June – August

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

More discreet than the foxglove, its small pale yellow flowers open gradually from the bottom to the top of the spike. The foxglove has large pink-purple bells spotted inside, in a dense spike, whereas the straw foxglove has smaller, pale yellow flowers veined with brown, in a looser spike.

🍃 Leaves

Lanceolate, shiny, hairless, bright green

🌸 Flowers

Long upright spikes of small pale yellow bells

🍎 Fruits

Small ovoid capsules

🪵 Bark

Basal rosette in the first year, flowering stem in the second

🗺️ Distribution

Central and southern Europe; present but localised in light woodland and chalky woodland edges in France.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Pale yellow tubular flowers adapted to bumblebees, the only insects strong enough to enter the corolla.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Shaded borders, light woodland, borders; to be kept out of reach of children and animals because of its toxicity.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Toxic in all its parts (cardiotonic glycosides such as digitalin); ingestion can cause serious heart disorders.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Straw foxglove

Digitalis lutea

Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea

The foxglove has large pink-purple bells spotted inside, in a dense spike, whereas the straw foxglove has smaller, pale yellow flowers veined with brown, in a looser spike.

🌿 Other Plantaginaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.