Morphological description and properties of common comfrey seed

BORAGINACEAE FAMILY The fruitlets are ovate-asymmetrical, obliquely triangular-humped. The apex is shifted to the side. The base is straight-truncate. The fruit protrusion extends significantly beyond the rim. The hilum is deep, surrounded by a weakly ribbed annular rim, above which there is a slight constriction. The surface is rugose-warty, slightly glossy. The color is dark gray, the annular rim is almost black; the fruit protrusion is light yellow. Length 2.75–3.5 mm, width 3–4 mm, thickness 2.25–2.5 mm. It infests vegetable gardens, meadows, and less frequently fields; it grows along roadsides. Distribution: Caucasus; introduced into the Baltic, northern, and central regions of the European part. Toxic properties: The aerial part, including the seed, is poisonous. The plant contains the alkaloids cynoglossine and consolidine, which have a curare-like effect and cause paralysis of the central nervous system.