27; see text Symphytum is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced /ˈkʌmfri/, from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', referring to uses in ancient traditional medicine).

Symphytum is native to northern temperate regions of Asia and North America, with a wide introduced distribution on both continents.

[citation needed] Bocking 14 is sterile, and therefore will not set seed (one of its advantages over other cultivars as it will not spread out of control); thus, it is propagated from root cuttings.

The gardener can produce "offsets" from mature, strongly growing plants by driving a spade horizontally through the leaf clumps about 7 cm (2.8 in) below the soil surface.

Comfrey contains mixed phytochemicals in varying amounts, including allantoin, mucilage, saponins, tannins, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and inulin, among others.