Digitalis
1
8.6
- noun
- /ˈdɪdʒɪtəlɪs/
- Specialized
:
digital
- Medicinal compounds derived from Digitalis can be used to treat certain heart conditions.
- Digitalis foxglove
Examples
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Digitalis.
-
Foxglove—or digitalis, as the pharmaceutical compounds derived from it are commonly called—works not by directly causing increased urination, as Withering thought, but by making the heart beat more strongly and efficiently.
Academic text (2008) -
The garden was filled with beautiful Digitalis flowers, their bell-shaped petals attracting many bees.
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Botanists often study Digitalis species because of their striking appearance and ecological importance.
Synonyms
6
8.2
A tall plant with bell-shaped purple flowers that are poisonous
Compounds
- Specialized
A wildflower from Europe with small yellow flowers shaped like tubes
- Specialized
A tall European plant with purple bell-shaped flowers whose leaves make a medicine for the heart and are poisonous
- Specialized
A medicine made from the foxglove plant that makes the heart beat stronger
Surface Forms
Etymology
Digitalis comes from the Latin digitus 'finger' and is the same root as the English word digit. People thought the plant's bell-shaped flowers looked like small fingers or a glove for a finger, so the name fits the plant's shape.