Comfrey, a Weed We Should Learn to Love

For those interested in foraging or just plants in general, the idea of “weeds” quickly gets snuffed.

Weeds don’t really exist in the plant kingdom. Rather, they are a human construct in which we value some plants, say grass, pansies, or tomatoes, over other plants such as dandelions or plantain.

However, the reasons for what makes some plants valuable to humans versus what makes them weeds is nothing more than a trend, really. Dandelions, as many of us know, are a tasty and nutritious source of food, from their leaves and flowers all the way down to their roots. Kudzu, considered one of the most offensive weeds in the South, is the same: edible, delicious, nutritious.

Comfrey is another common weed we should learn to love. While this one is not for eating, it does have a multitude of medicinal qualities, and it is extremely beneficial in gardening. In short, it’s time to get familiar with comfrey and some of its more endearing characteristics.

Plant Info

Comfrey has a bad reputation because it grows prolifically once established. Like dandelions, just a portion of comfrey root can spawn an entirely new plant, and it also spreads easily by seed. Thus, where it is planted, it is very difficult to eradicate. Comfrey has large, wooly leaves and bell-like purple flowers. It can easily reach three feet in height and spread out just as wide.

Comfrey is from the borage (another useful “weed”) family—Boraginaceae—which is part of the flowering Symphytum genus. It is a perennial plant and native to Europe, but it has naturalized in the US and around the world. It has been here since the 1600s. It grows from USDA Zone 3 through 9, basically the contiguous states.

Comfrey for Companion Planting

Comfrey is a great companion plant for fruit trees and many garden crops because it has a deep tap root that pulls up hard-to-reach minerals from underground. Those minerals get stored in the leaves, and when the leaves decompose, the minerals are made biological available to surrounding plants.

When starting a food forest/mixed orchard, these are great companions because they don’t compete with trees but do provide nutrients. They are great garden plants, too, but they need to be strategically placed to avoid invasiveness. Clever gardeners pluck mature comfrey leaves and dot them around the garden and orchard.

Comfrey for Composting

Comfrey is a magical addition to compost. The leaves carry a lot of nutrients in them, helping to boost the nutrient content of the compost. Additionally, comfrey leaves decompose very quickly, and in permaculture, a bunch of leaves will be put in the center of the compost pile to kickstart the decomposition process. The leaves actually have more nitrogen content than many animal manures.

Comfrey for Fertilizer

Unsurprisingly, comfrey’s high nitrogen and mineral content make it a great candidate for fertilizer. One method for doing this is making a comfrey “tea”. This liquid fertilizer is created by putting a load of chopped up comfrey in the bottom of a bucket, letting it steep in water (until it looks like black tea) and diluting it (15:1) to water plants.

Comfrey for Pollinators

Bees and butterflies are big news these days, and they love to collect the nectar of comfrey flowers. These large plants will draw in a menagerie of beneficial insects to the garden, and while they are hanging out, these pollinators will visit the flowers of fruit and vegetable plants, too.

Comfrey for Animals

Farm animals and grazers, such as deer, also really like comfrey. Its high nutrient content is very beneficial to them, and it is known to have notable levels of selenium, a nutrient sometimes hard for these animals to find.

Comfrey for Medicine

“Comfrey & Arnica muscle rubs” by Smoobs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Comfrey is renowned for its medicinal qualities. It is sometimes referred to as “knitbone” because it is commonly used to help with bone issues, particularly breaks. It can be pulverized into a poultice to be applied topically for sprains, swelling, stings, and cuts. While it was traditionally used for internal ailments as well, ingesting it has been linked to liver issues, so the USDA banned its use this way.

Yet again, as we learn with so many plants we’ve been taught to detest, the truth is they are worthy of our love. Comfrey is amazing, beautiful, and incredibly useful.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/comfrey-a-weed-we-should-learn-to-love/