Symphytum officinale derives its name from the Greek word symphyto meaning to unite, likely because of comfrey’s reputation for “knitting bones” together. The common name “comfrey” is believed to be a corruption of the Latin word confervere meaning “to heal.” It is not known how long comfrey has been in use; however its recorded use dates as far back as the 1^st century A.D. The Greek physician Dioscorides began prescribing comfrey tea internally for respiratory and gastrointestinal problems. The early Greeks used comfrey root externally to treat wounds believing that it helped torn flesh to grow together. The Roman naturalist Pliny “verified” this practice with his observation of boiling comfrey in water produces a sticky paste that is capable of binding chunks of meat together. The paste hardens like plaster. That may be why on ancient battlefields they would often soak a cloth in this tea and wrap it around broken bones. When the cloth dried it became an effective cast.

In the 1500s herbalists everywhere were recommending comfrey tea for mending broken bones. One English herbal suggested that it “helpeth [people who have] broken the bone of the leg.” (The New Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman 152) The famous 17^th century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper wrote this about comfrey root, “full of glutinous and clammy juice,” for “all inward hurts, and outward wounds and sores in fleshy or sinewy parts of the body…[it] is especially good for ruptures and broken bones.” (The New Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman 152) It seems as though Culpepper was in agreement with Pliny when he said, “[…Comfrey] is specially good for ruptures and broken bones, so powerful to consolidate and knit together that if they be boiled with dissevered pieces of flesh in a pot, it will join them together again.” (A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve 218) This explains where comfrey it gets its name “knitbone.”

Gerard’s Herbal is quoted in the New Scientist as saying “The slimie substances of the roots in a posset of ale and given to drink against the pain in the back gotten by any violent motion such as wrastling or overmuch use of women, douth in foure or five days perfectly cure the same, although involuntary flowing of seed in men gotten thereby.” (Handbook of Medicinal Herbs by James A. Duke 464 New Scientist  July 15, 14 1976)

19^th century Eclectic physicians, the forerunners of today’s naturopathic physicians, prescribed comfrey for diarrhea, dysentery, cough, bronchitis, and “female debility” (menstrual problems). (The New Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman 153) Mexican midwives still use comfrey by applying it to torn vaginal tissue.

By the mid 1990s herbalists stopped recommending the internal use of comfrey due to some chemicals that were found in comfrey that have been shown to have toxic effects on the liver. Although the safety of the internal use of comfrey is still in question, most modern herbalists are in agreement that comfrey is one of the best first aid herbs and is completely safe for external uses. Traditionally, people would apply comfrey leaves to an injured area as a poultice or a compress. They would either mash the fresh leaves or chew them before applying them to the area.