Common foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Family: Plantaginaceae
Fire effect on plant
Fire is likely to kill common foxgloves.
Key traits
Common foxgloves are biennial or short-lived perennial plants commonly found on disturbed sites, such as where vegetation has been burnt. This species readily colonises bare ground after disturbance, often rapidly and in large numbers, as their seeds germinate when exposed to light. The seedbank in this species is long-lived (Olano et al, 2002) and can survive low-intensity fires (Måren & Vandvik, 2009). Whether common foxgloves survive fire during their lifetime is unclear from the literature, but is unlikely given their short life-span and would be much less important than the abundant post-fire recruitment to persistence in fire-prone landscapes.
Plant response to fire
The common foxglove responds well to disturbance, including regular prescribed fire, where land is rapidly colonised following burning (Måren & Vandvik, 2009). In successional habitats, the absence of repeated disturbance frequently leads to local population extinction in this species (van Baalen & Prins, 1983; Vandvik et al, 2005).
Timing of life history
Biennial or short-lived perennial species. Seeds produced in second growing season. Flowers May to July.
Conservation status
None.
References
Måren, I.E. and Vandvik, V. (2009), Fire and regeneration: the role of seed banks in the dynamics of northern heathlands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20: 871-888 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Olano, J. M., Caballero, I., Laskurain, N. A., Loidi, J., Escudero, A. (2002). Seed bank spatial pattern in a temperate secondary forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 13: 775-784 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Van Baalen, J. & Prins, E.G.M. (1983) Growth and reproduction of Digitalis purpurea in different stages of succession. Oecologia, 58, 84–91 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Vandvik, V., Heegaard, E., Måren, I. E., & Aarrestad, P. A. (2005). Managing Heterogeneity: The Importance of Grazing and Environmental Variation on Post-Fire Succession in Heathlands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42(1), 139–149 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]