White Comfrey (Symphytum orientale) self-seeds on the allotment which is fine by me. However, this clump is growing among among the raspberry canes which is not ideal so I dug it up to transplant to the garden.

 

  It had a deep tap root as is the case with most species of Symphytum. For this reason Comfrey has the reputation of being a 'dynamic accumulator' i.e. drawing up nutrients from deep in the soil. To this way of thinking the leaves are correspondingly rich in NPK: nitrogen, phosphorous, magnesium. Some gardeners (including me) steep the leaves in water to make 'Comfrey tea'- a stinky brew applied as a liquid plant feed. Alternatively a chop and drop approach uses the leaves as a mulch or they can simply be added to the compost heap.

 S. orientale is a beauty and I generally leave it be but the coarser Comfreys I treat as a cut and come again crop for the leaves. The flowers of all species attract bees a plenty.