rusty foxglove

Digitalis ferruginea L.

Rusty foxglove gives the familiar foxglove silhouette an unusual palette. Instead of clear purple or white, its flowers range through yellow-brown and rusty red, marked inside with darker veins. A slender, crowded raceme rises above closely arranged lance-shaped leaves, producing a strongly vertical plant. Botanischer Garten Frankfurt: Digitalis ferruginea

Botanical name

Kew accepts Digitalis ferruginea in Plantaginaceae. The account concerns the species, not a named garden cultivar. Plants of the World Online: Digitalis ferruginea

Recognizing the plant

The Frankfurt Botanical Garden describes it as a biennial or short-lived perennial, usually bearing a single unbranched stem that can approach 1.8 metres. The narrow flower cluster and densely placed foliage make its outline useful for recognition even before individual blossoms are examined. At suitable garden sites it can renew its presence by self-sowing, so a planting may persist through successive individuals rather than one exceptionally long-lived crown. Botanischer Garten Frankfurt: Digitalis ferruginea

Bloom window

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Chicago Botanic Garden lists May–June flowering for its regional garden conditions. Chicago Botanic Garden: Digitalis ferruginea

Native range

Kew places its native range from Hungary toward the Caucasus and Lebanon. Frankfurt’s account similarly locates it in southern and southeastern Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus and the Near East, and describes sunny to partly shaded woodland margins and open scrub as congenial settings. Plants of the World Online: Digitalis ferruginea Botanischer Garten Frankfurt: Digitalis ferruginea

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.