Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove):(DO NOT EAT)
This plant is not actually native to the Pacific Northwest. Instead it is actually introduced from Europe. Interestingly, this plant is used today by thousands of people that suffer from heart disease.

The plant itself is poisnous, containing cardiac glycosides that affect muscles and circulation. However, like most drugs, a poison in moderation can surve as a very valuable medicine.

The name foxglove plants often grow around the disturbed entrances of fox dens. In Anglo-Saxon culture, they called the plant foxes-gliew (fox music), which probably became the modern word 'fox-glove. (READ MORE)