Once comfrey puts down roots, it’s there to stay. It’s an invasive healer, my term. You see a lot of this plant in the Willamette valley. It prefers to grow in damp fields; meadows and ditches; and along the banks of streams and ponds.
Symphytum officinalis is known commonly as comfrey. Comfrey is from latin, comfirmare, which means to join together. Symphytum is from the Greek word sympho meaning to unite. The name is from its traditional use in compress and poultice preparations to heal fractures, broken bones, bruises, and burns. In casual conversation, it’s called bone set, knit bone, bruise wort, black wort, ass ear, wall wort, slippery root, gum plant, or knit back. My favorite is ass ear, which if you look at the leaves, is pretty accurate.
Comfrey contains vitamins A and B12, and is high in calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. The Irish potato famine of the 1840s motivated a Quaker researcher in England named Henry Doubleday to fund research into comfrey’s potential as a nutritional food crop. Traditionally, it was prepared cooked or fresh. Young leaves were added to salads. It was given to animals too. One source said, “every writer since 1810 has stressed the real pleasure pigs have in eating comfrey.”
Today, we are discouraged from using it internally due to concerns around toxicity.
In the 1870s, Doubleday produced a Russian hybrid of comfrey. At that time, it was not for healing, instead he was hoping to make postage stamp glue. It didn’t stick.
The bone healing aspect of this plant has been used for humans and animals. The source of bone health is from allantoin, which increases cell generation.
It was used during World War I for wound healing.
Research
Plants have been around for so long, they have diverse stories and brushes with many cultures, humans, animals, and more recently, science. Native people of Asia, Europe, and North America used it regularly. As we now look back, we are becoming aware again of the plant and its properties, and ways it might help modern humans enduring sore backs and knees, of which there are plenty.
Recently, several clinical trials have proven the efficacy of comfrey. The focus of study is mostly around strains and sprains and other muscle and joint complaints. Additionally, various skin conditions are noted to respond well to this herb.
For acute back pain, one study compared an ointment containing an extract of comfrey root to a placebo ointment in patients with acute upper or lower back pain. Back pain at rest was reportedly reduced by 97% in the comfrey root group and 40% in the placebo group. Comfrey was observed as fast acting, relieving pain after one hour.
Most research points to allantoin and rosmarinic acid as the key beneficial components of comfrey.
Other studies suggest that comfrey benefits osteoarthritis of the knee.
Compost
Toss the leaves into your compost as it us produces massive amounts of organic matter, and increases potassium levels. If leaves are soaked in rainwater for a few weeks, they are recommended as a valuable fertilizer for the garden, especially for tomatoes and potatoes.
Livestock
Comfrey has a strong background in farming, as feed and medicine for animals.
Pigs: Strongest in the litter run toward the comfrey that the mother is eating, leaving sow’s milk more available to the smaller piglets. It was used often, especially during war years to save on costs as a way to supply needed minerals and high protein.
Geese: Eat the leaves, leave the midribs. Said to make them extra good tasting.
Horses: Comfrey builds good bones. Particularly popular for racehorses.
Giraffes: Also need the bone building material to support their stature, and they love to eat it.
Calves: Farmer’s use it to cure “scouring” calves. Scouring means diarrhea, which for newborn calves can be life threatening.
DIY Comfrey poultice:
There are many online tutorials about how to make your own comfrey poultice. I am sharing this one from Beekman 1802:
Pick six large comfrey leaves and chop into 2” bits. Place in a food processor or blender. Add a half cup of water.
Once blended, ad a fistful of flour. Cornmeal is ok too. Any binder will do. Pulse this mixture until it becomes a paste. Add more flour if it’s too liquid. The final product has a similar consistency to pesto.
Use a spatula to scrape paste onto a clean dishtowel or cloth, folded in half, lengthwise.
Fold edges over to cover part of the mixture, but leave the middle exposed. It will look like a partially wrapped burrito. The open area is where your skin will be in contact with the mixture.
Wrap this around your limb, or place on back- wherever your pain is. Add another piece of cloth or ace bandage if it needs to be held in place, for example a wrist, elbow, or knee.
Leave compress for 1-2 hours+ if possible. A perfect time to read a book while the comfrey sinks in.
After use, remember, comfrey is a great addition to compost!
https://beekman1802.com/comfrey-poultice/
My comfrey haiku:
Purple comfrey roots
Under the moon’s dominion
Bringing strength to bones
[Published in Take Root magazine winter 2019]