Editing Symphytum (section)

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the borage family Boraginaceae}}
{{About|the genus of plants known as comfrey|the place|Comfrey, Minnesota}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image=Symphytum caucasicum - Curtis.jpg
|image_caption=''[[Symphytum caucasicum]]''
|taxon=Symphytum
|authority= [[Tourn.]] ex [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] (1753)
|type_species=''[[Symphytum officinale]]''
|type_species_authority=L.
|subdivision_ranks=Species
|subdivision=27; see text
|subdivision_ref = <ref name = powo>[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30124711-2 ''Symphytum'' Tourn. ex L.] ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 31 July 2024.</ref>
|synonyms =
*''Consolida'' {{small|Riv. ex Ruppius (1745), not validly publ.}}
*''Procopiania'' {{small|Guşul. (1928)}}
*''× Procopiphytum'' {{small|Pawł. (1971)}}
|synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo/>
}}

'''''Symphytum''''' is a [[genus]] of flowering plants in the borage family, [[Boraginaceae]], known by the common name '''comfrey''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|"|k|V|m|f|r|i}}, 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.<ref name=WFO/> There are 59 recognized species.<ref name="WFO">{{cite web|publisher=The World Flora Online|date=18 July 2023|title= ''Symphytum'' L.|url= http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000037231|access-date=15 June 2024}}</ref> Some species and [[Hybrid plant|hybrids]], particularly ''[[Symphytum officinale|S. officinale]]'', ''[[Symphytum grandiflorum]]'', and [[Symphytum × uplandicum|''S.'' × ''uplandicum'']], are used in [[gardening]] and [[herbal medicine]]. Species in the genus ''Symphytum'' are different from ''[[Andersonglossum virginianum]]'', known as wild comfrey, which is another member of the borage family.<ref name="usda">{{PLANTS |id=CYVI |taxon=Cynoglossum virginianum |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>